The Messer Chronicles: This Most Joyous Year
by Meum Cerebrum Nocet
Summary: The boys are back! And ready to rule the roost! They've got Quidditch to play, pranks to pull off, and passageways to explore. And then there's the rapidly evolving rivalry with Snivellus. Oh, what a year they'll have! [Book 2]
1. Chapter 1: This Way Comes

_**Summary:**_ _The boys are back! And ready to rule the roost! They've got Quidditch to play, pranks to pull off, and passageways to explore. And then there's the rapidly evolving rivalry with Snivellus. Oh, what a year they'll have!_

* * *

 **The Messer Chronicles**

 **This Most Joyous Year**

* * *

 _Life if so constructed, that the event does not, cannot, will not match the expectation_

 _~Charlotte Bronte_

* * *

 **Chapter One**

 **This Way Comes**

* * *

 _Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end_

 _~Seneca_

* * *

James stood high in the stands, watching his favourite team, Puddlemere United, absolutely trounce their opponents, the Chudley Cannons. He was almost bouncing from the feeling of absolute joy that bubbled up inside him at a result of the game. Beside him, his equally enthusiastic father yelled and cheered as each goal, each Quaffle passed the Keeper, only increased Puddlemere's lead. James couldn't help the wide smile that crossed his face.

This was a Potter family tradition. At least once a year, James and his father would attend a Puddlemere United Quidditch game. It didn't matter what else was going on in their lives, the pair would go to at least one game, if not more. James had first learned the rules and intricacies of the game as a tot at one such game; his father had patiently explained the rules, the basics of the game play, and the role of each position. Then, over the years of attending matches, Fleamont had begun pointing out more and more detailed and complicated aspects of the game. James learned about well-known moves and plays, about particular players' quirks and habits. Through their yearly excursions to watch the best of British Quidditch, James had learned all about the great game and developed a great passion. Each and every year, James looked forward to the game with his father with nearly incontainable excitement.

All in all, James' summer had been excellent. Sure, there'd been some homework, mostly reading as underaged wizards were not allowed to perform magic outside of school, but James figured he could get by with simply skimming the material. That's what he'd done through most of his first year at Hogwarts. Instead, he filled his days with backyard Quidditch practice to hone his skills; he was going to make the Gryffindor team this year! In fact, he told himself, he would have made the team last year if there'd been a spot for him.

It was with images of himself leading the Gryffindors to victory. That James left the Quidditch stadium with his father. The stadium had been disguised as an overgrown pitch for some muggle sport called football so as to keep the muggle population away from it. During games, the magical population had to exit in small waves so as not to draw too much attention. Though, on that particular day, James wasn't sure that the small groups were being all that effective.

Puddlemere had absolutely decimated Chudley, leaving the United fans in a raucous, celebratory mood and the Cannon fans in an absolutely foul mood. It was an atmosphere conducive to attention drawing behaviour, whether it was the enthusiastic revelry of some, or the small brawls that broke between opposing fans.

Fleamont Potter hurried his son along, away from the stadium and towards one of the designated portkey locations. James wished he could have stayed and joined in with the commotion that was building, whether celebrating or fighting, the messy haired boy didn't really care. His father knew this fact very well and was not about to let James get wrapped up in any of it.

When they arrived at the portkey, an empty shopping bag tethered by a rock to keep it from blowing away, there were only two other wizards there. A newspaper, the latest edition of the Daily Prophet, was open before them and they were discussing one of the articles in hushed tones.

"Another disappearance?"

"Fourth one this year! The ministry's been pretty hush-hush about it all, but I'm sure there's a connection! All the people who've gone missing were muggle born after all." The two men continued whispering about an old man from Essex who'd vanished a few days before, but James tuned them out. Unless it was about Quidditch, James couldn't care less about the news. Instead, he sat down and began composing a letter to his friends, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew.

The four had all been sorted into Gryffindor the year before and quickly became friends. Over the summer, because of the distances between their houses, the four had agrees to keep in touch through letters. James, excited about his yearly Quidditch match, had promised his friends a play by play of the match.

* * *

 _James,_

 _I'm glad to hear that your summer had been absolutely smashing. Quidditch all day, every day would be the absolute best! Of course, you do need the extra practice, especially if you want to keep up with me! If you keep up your practicing, then one of us will definitely make the Gryffindor team!_

 _I still can't believe you got to see Puddlemere absolutely trounce Chudley! I would have loved to see it! Some people are saying it might be the largest margin of victory in British Quidditch history! My contraband wireless was just not cutting it. You'll have to give me all the details the next time we meet. Your letter was just not enough. And maybe one year, I'll actually get to go to a live professional Quidditch match. Hogwarts' matches are pretty cool (though hopefully less tampered this year) but watching the real thing in person would just be the absolute best! When do you think the World Cup will be in England next? Hopefully soon!_

 _My summer is shaping up to be quite reminiscent of a Strinkley lecture. Mum's still not talking to me (which isn't really all that bad), but she's started providing me with food again. I had to point out that it wouldn't really reflect well on her maternal skills if one of her sons died of starvation before she agreed to it, but I can once again freely access the pantry and whatnot. And to think, all this because I dared to be sorted into this horrid Gryffindor house!_

 _Oh well, only 44 days until the Hogwarts Express departs and I'm rid of the lot of them. Well, except Reg, but he's a little more bearable._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Sirius_

* * *

"Mum!" James called, rushing into the kitchen, a piece of parchment grasped tightly in his hand. His face was flushed and his heart was beating quickly, but not from the effort of running from the sitting room. He was upset and angry; the latest letter from Sirius had been particular distressing.

"Mum!" James called again, rounding the entryway into the kitchen. He found Euphemia Potter standing behind a large cooking island, a thick book open in front of her. James instantly recognized it as her baked goods recipe book. For a split second, James was distracted by the fact that she was most likely preparing something absolutely delicious.

"Yes, Jamie? What is it?" Euphemia asked, concerned by her son's tone of voice. At her words, James returned his focus to his task. He clutched the piece of parchment tighter and prepared himself for the execution of his self-assigned duty.

"Mum, Sirius is having an absolutely terrible summer! He doesn't get along very well with his family. His parents aren't really kind or loving. It's gotten so bad that for a while, his mum was barely feeding him!" At James' words, Euphemia's hands shot up to her heart and mouth. Her expression quickly clouded with motherly concern. It didn't matter if it was her child or not; whenever she learned of a child's mistreatment she was instantly a protective mother bear.

"That's absolutely terrible!" she exclaimed. James relaxed a little, certain that he had hooked his mother. Now to reel in the line.

"Yes it is! So I was wondering, if it was okay with his parents, if Sirius could come and spend time here. You know, get some proper meals and get away from his parents for a little." As he made his request, James made sure he gave his mum the biggest puppy dog eyes he could manage.

Euphemia was quiet for a few seconds before she responded, "Of course, Jamie! As long as it's okay with his mum and dad. He can come as soon as he wants and stay for as long as he wants. Your father and I could even make sure he, and you of course, get onto the train for school." Her concern for Sirius' wellbeing had meant she was willing to almost offer the sun, anything she could do to make sure the young boy was cared for.

"Excellent," James called, racing out of the room, "I'll go write to him to invite him right away!"

* * *

It took a fair amount of discussion and persuasion, but Sirius eventually convinced his parents to let him spend the final two weeks of summer at the Potters. James suspected, the Blacks were probably just as excited to be away from Sirius as he was from them. It was easier to pretend they didn't have a Gryffindor son if Sirius wasn't at home with them.

In the weeks between James' invitation and Sirius' arrival, the messy haired boy had meticulously planned out things he wanted to do with Sirius. There was, of course, backyard Quidditch games in preparation for Gryffindor try outs in a few months' time. Then, there was visiting Godric's Hallow, showing Sirius the sights, both magical and muggle, and even possibly a few harmless, non-magical pranks on some of the unsuspecting villagers. All in all, James had planned a pretty excellent last two weeks of summer.

Now, all that was left was for Sirius to show up so they could begin it all.

On the morning of Sirius' arrival, James sat at the breakfast table with his parents. Fleamont was situated behind his paper, occasionally sharing pieces of news with his wife. James was feeling anxious about his friend's arrival and wasn't paying his parents much attention.

"It's just getting worse, Phem. Even more disappearances, and the Clarks were all hexed with an innocent looking package." Fleamont had an obviously concerned tone of voice and kept shooting his son furtive glances.

"I hope they find the person or people responsible for it soon. Otherwise, it may be unsafe to even go outside. Jamie, are you feeling okay?" Euphemia turned from her husband to her son. James had only been picking at his breakfast and had instantly drawn his mum's concerned gaze.

"I'm fine. Just too excited to eat," James responded. He stabbed a sausage and ate it to try and ease some of his mum's worry.

"Well, I'll just make an extra big lunch. I'm sure the two of you will be starving by that time," Mrs. Potter spoke, comforting herself with the prospect of stuffing her son and his friend at lunch.

The Potters then returned to their relatively quiet breakfast, each member lost in their own thoughts. As a result, they all jumped when a bang sounded from the sitting room. James then leapt up and raced in the direction of the sound. Standing in the Potter's elegant fireplace, a little sooty and definitely thinner, was none other than Sirius Black.

His hair was shorter, now only reaching the bottoms of his ears as opposed to his chin. His face looked sunken, yet still appeared very handsome. And his dark eyes still shimmered with mischievousness.

"James! How are you?" Sirius asked enthusiastically, carefully exiting the fireplace and moving to greet James.

"Excellent! Mum's made enough breakfast for eight. Want some real food?"

* * *

Sirius and James walked through the small town, determined looks on their face. They came to rest in the center of town, a large open area surrounded by small shops and dominated by an aged stone church. A few other people milled around the area, running errands and other tasks. No one paid the boys much attention.

"Okay," Sirius asked, turning to James, "What's the plan?" James looked smugly at his friend before turning back to the church.

"We get into the church; it's always open so that shouldn't be too much of an issue. Then we climb to the top of the bell tower," James followed the steeple of the church up to the top with his finger as he spoke. "Once up at the top, we regale the rest of the inhabitants of Godric's Hallow with the Screaming Banshee's song For the Benefit of Mr. Snitch. It'll be fantastic!"

Sirius also looked up at the bell tower of the church. The song, a fairly recent rock song with some rather odd lyrics, was one of James' favourites. Sirius carefully took in the idea. It sounded like it could be a laugh riot, a wizarding song blaring out from the bell tower of a muggle church. However, he was a little apprehensive about the execution. They didn't have their wands and this whole escapade would have been a hell of a lot easier, and possibly safer, if they could do it with magic.

But Sirius was not going to let that stop him. He was undaunted by the task at hand and would risk his neck for a good joke. He turned and smiled at his friend, motioning towards the church.

"After you."

The main area of the church was empty. It was a Tuesday afternoon, not exactly prime church going time, so the pair was able to move through the space fairly easily. Access to the bell tower was through a door labelled 'staff only.' James carefully tried the knob, but it was locked.

"Now what?" Sirius whispered. Normally, he would have whipped out his wand and cast an alohamora charm, or another unlocking spell. Having not been exposed to the muggle world all that much, he wasn't entirely sure what the next step was. In the spy books and radio stories that he knew about, when presented with a locked door, the muggle spy would pick the lock. But Sirius didn't know what that meant or how to do it.

James had a twinkle in his eye that gave Sirius a spark of hope. The messy haired boy then pulled out something small and metal. Sirius had never seen it before, but had to believe it would be helpful.

"I've watched the muggle kids unlock doors with this countless times. A few days ago, I approached one and asked him how to do it. Apparently it's called lock picking. It's quite ingenious what muggles have come up with to get by without magic!" Sirius' eyes sparkles. James knew how to pick locks!

The messy haired boy turned to the door and inserted the small metal object, a lock pick, into the keyhole of the door. He moved it around a little, a look of concentration etched on his face. Then, after a few seconds, a soft click sounded. Sirius tried the door and it opened.

"Ta da!" James commented, a sly smile on his face. At their small moment of success, Sirius couldn't help but celebrating with a little jig. "After you," James continued, echoing Sirius' words from earlier. Sirius walked through the door and began climbing the stairs found there. James was right on his heels. As the boys climbed higher and higher, the stairs got thinner and thinner. They were in better shape than Sirius had been imagining, so their climb wasn't too perilous, but the bell tower was fairly tall. It took the boys a lot of time, about half an hour, and a decent amount of effort to finally get to the top. By the time they reached the bells, Sirius was dripping in sweat and his legs felt so weak he worried he might collapse.

"Okay, we made it. Now, do you know how to work those things? Can you play the song?" Sirius slid down one of the walls of the tower, no longer really able to stand. James eyed the bells warily, making Sirius think he hadn't quite thought the whole thing through. Then Sirius spotted a mischievous glint in his friend's eyes and any doubt Sirius had vanished.

"I've got no idea! But I figure just making a racket will be satisfactory enough. What do you think?"

* * *

A loud clashing of bells suddenly broke the quite of the day. The few pigeons that had been roosting on the roof of the church and some nearby buildings took flight at the noise. The people who had been milling around in the square below turned to look up at the bells, some simply shaking their heads while others muttered under their breath about 'those troublemaking kids.'

James and Sirius quickly collapsed to the floor, laughter nearly incapacitating them.


	2. Chapter 2: A Nice Family Outting

_To begin with, our perception of the world is deformed, incomplete. Then our memory is selective. Finally, writing transforms._

 _~Claude Simon_

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

 **A Nice Family Outing**

* * *

"Hurry along now, Peter. Your dad took the morning off of work so he could come with us and we don't want to waste any time. Your father does need to head into the office today! His work is extremely important!" Peter's mum gently prodded him as he sat at the table picking at the remains of his breakfast.

When Peter had woken up that morning, he'd been excited about the day. He'd been looking forward to it for weeks. Ever since his Hogwarts letter with that year's supply list had been delivered. There was nothing particularly exciting about his list, mostly just the same books as last year, but a level higher. It wouldn't be until the following year that he got different classes. But the supplies themselves weren't really what had excited Peter. That was the letter itself. Its arrival meant Peter's return to Hogwarts was just around the corner.

Almost as soon as they had arrived back at King's Cross station and separated, Peter had missed his friends. His father valued success more than anything else. He set extremely high standards for his family to ensure the Pettigrew's name continued to be associated with hard work and upward movement and may, one day, be considered one of the great wizarding families. If Peter was unable to meet these standards and contribute to the family's positive reputation, his father got extremely angry. One such standard that Peter had failed to meet was in his schoolwork. When the elder Peter Pettigrew, his father, was at school, he'd been near the top in all of his classes; the younger Peter was pretty much at the bottom. His father hadn't been pleased about that.

If Peter had to choose between home and school, he would have his bags packed in a heartbeat. At school, his friends didn't care about Peter's shortcomings. In fact, they tried to help him improve, not beat him because he wasn't already perfect. James, Sirius, and Remus made Peter feel welcome, safe, and like he could be himself. The same couldn't be said for his home.

"What's wrong?" his father snapped, slamming down his fork. "Your mother worked hard on this breakfast! It's delicious! Why aren't you eating it? Are you trying to make me late? I have an extremely important meeting this afternoon and if you make me miss it, you will feel the consequences." There was a pregnant silence that punctuated his words. He gave Peter a mean, scowling look that made the young boy shrink back in slight fear. His father then returned to wolfing down his breakfast. Peter quickly began eating his food, worried what his father would do.

Peter was a short boy. He had a more rotund frame that his mum gushingly referred to as baby fat. His face was round, and curtained by light brown hair that fell to just passed the top of his ears. His eyes were small, and a very light blue. His mother, who was bustling around the kitchen, looked almost exactly like her son, though her hair was a lighter, sunnier blonde. Peter's father was nearly the opposite of his mother, who was all warm curves and lightness. He was dark. Black hair and large black eyebrows framed dark brown, almost black, piercing eyes. His face was composed of harsh angles making him appear perpetually angry, which was usually his emotional state anyway.

When he'd woken up that morning, Peter had been excited about the trip to Diagon Alley to buy his school supplies. His mother had decided that it would be best to visit the wizarding shopping district on a weekday because it would be less busy. To Peter, that had meant that the trip would be conducted without his father, as he would have to work. Then, that morning his father had informed the rest of the small Pettigrew family that he had taken the morning off and would be joining them. To the elder Pettigrew, the luxury of a morning to go shopping with the family was a marker of success so strong that he couldn't pass it up.

Peter's heart had dropped and his appetite had disappeared. Having his father along would change the trip from a relaxing, enjoyable experience to one in which Peter stressed about every move he made and action he took. If he messed up in any way that his father could interpret as going against the perfect family, Peter would have to pay for it later.

"Maybe he took to much," his mother bravely chimed in. "He has already eaten a lot. Peter, how about you clear your plate and go wash up? Then we can head out." She smiled warmly at Peter, and then turned to her husband to see his reaction. The elder Pettigrew continued eating, which Peter knew meant he had no objections. As quietly and quickly as possible, Peter collected his dishes and headed to the kitchen.

When Peter was younger, it hadn't been as bad. His father was still angry a lot, and over small, relatively insignificant things, but his anger was rarely directed at Peter. He had been an innocent child. He had been someone who could essentially do nothing wrong. Then Peter grew up. He got older, less innocent-appearing, and began developing his magic. And it was as if a switch had gone in his father. Suddenly, the young boy who could do no wrong became the young man who could only do wrong. All Peter wanted to do was impress his father, but it seemed that he was completely incapable of such a thing.

"Ready," Peter spoke softly. He stood in the doorway of the dinning room. He was wearing the best set of robes he owned and had carefully combed and parted his hair so it looked exactly like his father's. His mother, who had been busy cleaning up in the kitchen, cast a spell so things would finish without her. His father was still sitting at the table, eating. But, a quick glance at his watch made him stand, his plate left on the table for his wife to tidy.

"You better not do anything to upset me today, boy," the older Pettigrew spoke, clasping Peter by the back of the neck. Peter hoped the same thing as the crushing blackness of apparation enveloped him.

* * *

It didn't take Peter's father long to get upset, though luckily it wasn't at Peter. The Pettigrew's first stop had been Flourish and Blotts; most of the new supplies Peter needed were books. So, as soon as the trio had apparated and entered Diagon Alley, they had headed to the bookstore. It was a small space with books crammed into ever possible nook and cranny. Luckily, the supply of Hogwarts' books was displayed clearly on the floor.

"Okay, Pete," his mother spoke, a look of determination on her face, "let's see what we need to pick up!" She held out her hand and Peter gave her a piece of parchment that had come with his letter. His father had wandered off into a different section of Flourish and Blotts, preferring to spend his precious time on his own pursuits.

Elizabeth 'Betty' Pettigrew looked over the list, then began moving around the stacks of books. When she found a desired volume, she would pull it off the pile and place it in Peter's arms. The stack of books that Peter was carrying quickly grew and he began to shake under the weight.

"Excuse me," Betty suddenly called out. Her brows were furrowed and she was looking for the proprietor of the shop, or even just someone who worked there. A squat man came quickly at her call, as did Peter's father.

"Yes, ma'am. How may I be of assistance?" the shopkeeper asked, a cheery smile on his face.

"Well, I'm here shopping for my son's second year at Hogwarts. I've almost got all of his required books, but I can't seem to find a copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Level 2. It is quite an important book, as I'm sure you are aware." Her voice was calm and cheery. The proprietor's face fell slightly at her words.

"Ah. Well, you see, we had a slight mishap with our ordering this year. Apparently, instead of ordering The Standard Book of Spells, Level 2, we ordered twice as many copies of The Standard Book of Spells, Level 3. The mistake was only noticed a few days ago and we've put in the appropriate order, but we're still waiting for the deliver-"

"WHAT?" the extremely irate voice of Mr. Pettigrew cut off the apologetic store keeper.

"You don't have ANY books? What are we supposed to do then? Send our son off ill-prepared? He's already struggling as it is! Incredibly thick, he is! And you expect us to handicap him further?" As Mr. Pettigrew yelled, he got closer and closer to the shopkeeper, who had begun to shake under the pressure of the angry man. Mr. Pettigrew was about the same height as the squat shopkeeper, but he was still able to effectively intimidate the man.

"Of course we do not wish to disadvantage your son!" the proprietor squeaked. "If you put your name and address down, we will send you a copy, free of charge, as soon as we get the books in. Which should be less than a week." The trembling man held out a quill and roll of parchment for Mr. Pettigrew to take. Instead, the angry man stormed out of the store. Mrs. Pettigrew stepped up and took the quill, looking extremely apologetic. She quickly scribbled down her information, paid for the books she had picked out earlier, and then hurried out of the store after her husband. An extremely embarrassed Peter followed on her heel.

'Why?' he thought as his father stormed down the street, 'why did he have to come?'

* * *

The rest of the shopping trip, thankfully, was not as eventful as the stop at Flourish and Blotts. However, Mr. Pettigrew was still seething. He was upset, on edge, and completely willing to take it out on anyone who so much as looked at him the wrong way. Peter and his mother were used to this mood in the elder Peter. They knew how to avoid setting him off further; the shopkeepers of Diagon Alley, unfortunately, did not.

"These lacewing flies look extremely small! Are you trying to rip us off?" he snapped at the poor clerk at the potion supply shop. The petite, almost pixie-like girl shook at the intense gaze of the elder Peter. Her eyes, already large, grew even bigger and began to fill with tears.

"Tha-that's the standard size, sir," she tried to explain, but was only met with the angry, piercing gaze of the elder Pettigrew. "Bu-but, I can check in the back! See, see if we have anything larger!" The pixie-like shop girl's response came out as more of a squeak, and she turned quickly on her heel and scampered away. Peter strongly suspected that she wasn't looking for larger lacewings, but was just hiding from the Pettigrews.

As his father continued to seethe, his mother moved quickly around the shop picking up the standard potion supplies Peter needed, as well as some things she needed. She shot apologetic looks at some of the other shopkeepers, as if she were somehow to blame for her husband's poor behaviour.

Mr. Pettigrew had also blown up at an unsuspecting dress maker because Madame Malkin was away that day and couldn't make Peter's robes herself. He'd yelled at the proprietor of the stationary store because his favourite quills were out of stock. Much to Peter's horror, his father had even gotten upset when they'd gone for something to eat and his sandwich dripped slightly on his pants. Obviously, the shop had put on too many condiments and Mr. Pettigrew had promptly returned to the counter and demanded a refund.

It was all getting to be too much for Peter and he couldn't wait until his father took his leave of them. Then maybe, Peter and his mother could salvage their day, make something out of it.

In an attempt to distract himself, Peter began to watch the people that passed him and his family as they made their way along the streets of Diagon Alley. It was fairly quiet, much as the Pettigrews' had hoped visiting mid-week that it would be. The lack of a crowd allowed them to move through the streets and shops, but it didn't provide Peter with a lot of distracting stimuli.

Most of the people were just hurrying from one shop to another, quickly buying their needed supplies before returning home or to work. No one was really doing anything all that interesting. Peter was just about to give up and resign himself to the next half-hour or so passing excruciatingly slowly, when a dark figure caught his eye.

It was a boy, about Peter's age, though taller and slimmer. He had long, greasy-looking hair as if it hadn't been washed in quiet some time. From his side view, Peter could see the boy's prominent hook nose. The robes he wore, all black, were baggy like they were several sizes to big. They were also dirty and ripped in places. They boy was standing next to a tall woman with elegant features and wearing what was at one time elegant robes but were now more torn and patched than anything.

'Snape.' Peter thought as he focused on the boy and the woman. The pairs' facial similarity made Peter assume they were mother and son. 'I guess his wardrobe isn't some sort of strange fashion choice.' It was obvious to Peter, by the previous state of Mrs. Snape's robes, that the family at one time had a fair amount of wealth. It was wealth that Peter's father was desperately trying to attain. However, it was also obvious, by the current state of both Mrs. Snape's and Severus' robes, that the family was now completely broke. They had even less money than the fairly poor Pettigrew's had.

As Peter watched, Mrs. Snape turned from the small kiosk she'd been standing in front of and focused on her son. Peter was too far away to hear what was said, but Peter could tell from her face and her posture that she was not pleased with her son. She wasn't yelling, Peter would have heard the words, but her teeth were clenched and the veins in her forehead were clearly evident. Peter instantly recognized the classic signs of rage.

Snape appeared to shrink back from his mother, as if he were afraid that her verbal assault would turn physical. Peter knew that feeling, felt almost a visceral reaction to seeing the same thing that often happened to him happen to someone else. Snape's mother must have been similar in character and disposition to his father.

Where his father wanted to obtain fame, fortune, and notoriety, Snape's mother was desperately clinging to old notions of such things. With neither of them successful in the achievement of their desires, they took their resulting anger out on their young sons.

However, instead of experiencing sympathy with the Slytherin at their shared problems, at the trauma that both boys most likely experienced, Peter pocketed the information. James' and Sirius' distaste of the Slytherin had so coloured Peter to the point that seeing someone else being so poorly treated didn't trigger a desire to comfort, but a desire to exploit. Peter could use this information; it could easily be fuel for the Gryffindor quartet's taunting and pranking. James, Sirius, and even Peter could definitely do some damage with that knowledge.


	3. Chapter 3: And We're Back

_For once you have tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you long to return._

 _~Leonardo Da Vinci_

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

 **And We're Back**

* * *

"And you packed enough warm clothes: sweaters, thick wool socks, long underwear, your outer robe? Your father's told me the castle is quite chilly at night, especially during winter. And paper, and ink! You've got that, right? I want you to write to us as much as possible. Once you're settled, I can send out a care package with whatever you need! Lots of chocolate too, for after…" Hope Lupin continued to fuss over her son, who was rapidly reddening with each passing second. The three Lupins were making their way through throngs of people milling about at King's Cross Station.

It was finally September again and Remus, eagerly, was returning to Hogwarts. Of course he would miss his parents, and their small cottage in the English countryside. He would miss the security they both, his parents and his house, offered, especially around that time of the month. But, he was also excited to get back to Hogwarts. He had good friends, interesting classes, and a lot of new magic to look forward too. For a year, Remus had been able to keep his secret from everyone, expect those already in the know like Professor Dumbledore, and it gave him confidence. If he'd been able to keep something from the three people he spent essentially every minute of every day with for a year, then he might not have to worry quite so much about it all.

"Relax, darling," Lyall spoke, putting a comforting hand on his wife's shoulders, "this isn't his first trip to school. I'm sure he's packed adequately to meet his various needs. And of course," Lyall levelled his son with an intense look, "he'll write to us at least once a week. We all made it through last year, this year shouldn't be too difficult."

His father's words, spoken in his deep, smooth baritone, had an almost instant calming effect on his nervous mother. She took a few deep breaths, her hands stopped shaking, and she ceased her hovering of her son. In response, Remus wrapped his mother into a tight hug.

"Well, then," Hope spoke after a few seconds, patting Remus comfortingly on the back. "We'd best get onto the platform. Don't want to miss the train or anything." Remus didn't think it would be possible to miss the train as, in her concern, the Lupins had arrived nearly an hour before the train was set to depart. However, not wanting to upset his mum when she was obviously affected by his imminent departure, Remus kept his mouth shut.

The three Lupins walked up to the platform 9¾ entrance and, as inconspicuously as possible, passed through the magical border. When they arrived on the other side, they were met with an almost empty platform. Remus thought he spotted a few anxious first years, and a few muggle families who had most likely arrived early to ensure they could figure out how to get onto the platform.

Remus took the opportunity of the almost empty platform to take in the majesty of the Hogwarts Express. It was a steam train, almost indistinguishable from a muggle train expect for the fact that this train didn't have anyone to drive it or make it go. It was all done through magic. It had several standard sized passenger cars behind it that would soon be filled with energetic students preparing to return to Hogwarts.

"Oh," a small, surprised sound escaped his mother's mouth, "I guess we're a little on the early side. Sorry, I'm used to the muggle train and you always need to get to those trains really early to get a seat." Remus' father chuckled at his wife, before squeezing her hand reassuringly.

"This way, Remus will be certain to get a seat. In fact, he's got his pick! Isn't that right, Remus?" Lyall smiled warmly down at his son. A small lump began to form in Remus' throat as the rapidly approaching goodbye with his parents finally hit him.

"Should we stay and wait with you, Remus? Or do you want to wait on the train for your friends. We aren't that early and I'm sure they'll be arriving shortly." Remus thought about his mum's offer for a minute.

"Well, it would be good to get on the train and try and get the compartment we've had the last few times," Remus spoke. He didn't look at his parents as he felt tears forming in the corner of his eyes. Thankfully, his parents didn't seem to notice. The three Lupins embraced in a tight hug and said their goodbyes. His mother fussed over him for a few more minutes, before she finally let him board the train.

* * *

Remus quickly and easily found the compartment he, James, Sirius, and Peter had sat in too and from Christmas and back home again. The four of them had agreed to try and meet each other there, because they would most likely be arriving at different times and that location would be easiest.

As Remus had suspected it would be, the compartment was empty. Taking his time, Remus loaded his trunk onto the rack above the seats and then settled in to wait for the arrival of the others. To help him pass the time, he pulled out a book, one of difficult and rare spells that his father had found in a discount bookstore. Remus thought he might be able to find some magic within it to help James, Sirius, and even Peter in their hijinks that year.

Remus quickly became enthralled in the book. So much so that even as the train cars began to fill up with loud, boisterous students, his focus wasn't broken. He barely registered the sounds, the passing of time that it signified. It wasn't until the train whistle blew, letting those still milling around on the platform know that the train would be leaving in ten minutes time, that Remus noticed. Finally, Remus pulled himself from his book and took a look around his still empty compartment.

He'd been sitting there, reading and waiting, for the better part of half an hour. And yet, no one, not even Peter, had shown up. The Hogwarts Express would be leaving shortly and Remus was still completely alone.

Panic began to rise in him.

It wasn't at the thought of being alone. Remus had essentially grown up alone. He was used to being alone. If need be, he was sure he could go on being alone. Sure, he'd gotten used to having friends, to being with people nearly all the time, but he'd only had that for a year. A still fairly significant amount of his life, essentially his entire childhood had been spent in solitude. He could fairly easily return to that solitude.

What was causing the panic was the question of _why_ his friends weren't in the compartment. The completely rational, logical side of Remus knew that they were probably just late. Peter, the second most punctual of the foursome, got lost and turned around easily. He was also a little on the slower side, and could take nearly twice as long as the others to complete a task. He was probably just dawdling. James and Sirius, who would be arriving together, often got distracted when presented with the opportunity to flout the rules or cause havoc. They were most likely out amongst the loud, boisterous crowd in the train hallway. That was what his logical brain was telling him.

But Remus also had an overactive imagination and an innate ability to worry over anything, often to the point of excess. And in that moment, with his friend's late arrival, his mind began working overtime. Maybe, Remus worried, maybe his friends had somehow found out his secret. He'd thought it had been kept from everyone, but perhaps it got out.

If his friends knew his secret, of course they wouldn't want to be around him, wouldn't want to spend essentially a day in close quarters with him. They were probably all in another compartment as far from Remus as possible. His mind pictured the three of them, eagerly if slightly uneasily, gossiping about the boy who had been their friend and his deep, dark secret. And if they knew, it was only a matter of time before others knew. Soon, the whole school would know and Remus' happy sanctuary would be no more.

As the images filled his mind, his breathing got shorter and shorter and came less and less easy. He was hyperventilating and, if he let it go on, he could pass out. Trying to get control of his body, Remus pressed his head against the cool glass of the window and tried to focus on taking deep breaths. He wasn't very successful.

"Are you alright?" a soft, concerned voice asked. Panic-stricken, Remus pealed his face from the window and turned to the door of his compartment. Instantly, relief washed over him. His increasingly paranoid thoughts dissipated and his logical side was once again able to take over control of his mind.

"Yeah, Peter. I'm fine. I was just starting to worry that you, and James and Sirius would be late for the train. I didn't want you to miss it." Now that his mind was no longer muddled with panic-inducing thoughts, Remus' breathing began returning to its normal, easy rhythm.

"Sorry about that. I couldn't find my outer robes no matter where I looked. It wasn't until my mum basically tore apart my bedroom that she found it shoved into a corner under my bed. It took quite a while and we only got here about five minutes ago. I was just boarding when I head the ten-minute whistle." Peter spoke quickly, obviously still feeling the adrenaline rush of nearly missing the train. As he told Remus his story, Peter busied himself with putting away his trunk and other belongings. Finally, he collapsed onto the seat across from Remus.

"Did you have a good summer?" Peter asked once he was situated, looking at his friend and smiling warmly.

"Yeah. Fairly standard. Spent time with family. I read a lot. Oh! And my Dad found this really awesome book of obscure spells!" Remus eagerly snatched up his back to show his friend.

"Did you say obscure spells?" a voice at the door asked.

"Anything helpful?" chimed in another. Simultaneously, Remus and Peter turned to the door. James, the second voice, casually sauntered into the compartment, using the leviosa charm they'd learned last year to life his trunk into the rack. Sirius, the first voice, followed suit. James then slumped down next to Remus while Sirius took the empty seat across from him and next to Peter.

Remus, a little annoyed at his friends' casual, and extremely tardy entrance, turned to face the pair.

"Where've you been? The train is only moments away from departing! You could have missed it!" James just smirked at the sandy haired boy before turning to look at Sirius.

"We've been on the train for like twenty minutes. Would have been here sooner, but we wanted to say hello to Snivellus. You know, welcome him back to Hogwarts," James responded. The idea of whatever they'd done to fellow second year Severus Snape then sent the pair into fits of uncontrollable laughter.

Remus sat back in his chair, annoyed at his friends. He caught Peter's eye and rolled his own eyes to express his feelings. However, he also couldn't help but smirk. A summer away obviously hadn't changed James and Sirius any.

* * *

The boys train ride back to Hogwarts was as loud and raucous as normal. Each took turns to share what they'd gotten up to that summer, with most of the talking done by James. Unlike Peter, Remus, and even Sirius, James had actually done adventurous, storytelling-worth things in the two months. Sirius piped in when James got to his tales of the last few weeks and the pair proudly proclaimed all the things they'd gotten up to. Both boys also made strong, impassioned claims that they would make the Gryffindor Quidditch team that year with the amount they'd practiced that summer.

James and Sirius, as well as Peter, though less so than the other two, were also extremely excited about the book Remus had discovered. They all excitedly perused the book, and James and Sirius even attempted to perform a few of them. All in all, it was a truly enjoyable train ride. Hopefully a predictor of what the rest of the year would be like, Remus mused.

Finally, the Hogwarts Express arrived at Hogsmeade station, and the now second-year Gryffindors grabbed their things and disembarked. The train platform was filled with students, slowly making their way towards the awaiting horseless carriages. Towering above everyone else, and bellowing for the first years to follow him in the opposite direction of everyone else was none other than Rebus Hagrid. Off in the distance, looming over the students was the one and only Hogwarts castle.

Finally, they were back.


	4. Chapter 4: Eat, Drink, and Be Sorted

_There is always tension between possibilities we aspire to and our wounded memories and past mistakes_

 _~Sean Brady_

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

 **Eat, Drink, and Be Sorted**

* * *

The carriage rattled up the pathway, slowly drawing closer and closer to the castle. Sirius sat with his friends, joking and goofing around with each other. He was trying to look unconcerned, trying to act like there wasn't something on his mind. He playfully ribbed Peter about a particularly disastrous attempt to transform a rose into a tulip in which the flower caught fire and singed a significant portion of his family's back garden. He plotted and schemed with James about how they would start the year of with a bang. All the while, he was trying to push out larger concerns or worries out of his mind.

"You feeling okay, Sirius?" James asked, obviously picking up on some of what Sirius was trying not to focus on. It was nice that his friend could read him so well, something no doubt resulting from spending every hour of every day for ten months together. They really got to know each other, know when something was bothering you, or know when you had a secret you were trying to keep. It was hard to hide something from someone who knew you so well.

"You seem a little out of it," James continued when Sirius didn't immediately respond. He had concern in his voice and etched clearly on his face. For a second or two, Sirius considered blowing off the question, downplaying the whole thing. He'd always been a little reserved about his family, not revealing the true extent of his family's depravity. But, in the same breath, Sirius shared a lot with his friends. They were his chosen family, the people he would have picked had he been given the option.

"My brother's starting Hogwarts this year," Sirius began, speaking slowly and carefully. "He's my family's golden child, their one son who can do no wrong. But he'd just really impressionable, and he's really concerned about impressing my parents. I'm pretty sure he'll be sorted into Slytherin like a proper Black should be, and I'm worried what that foul house will do to him. It's silly really." As Sirius spoke, he turned away from the concerned faces of his friends and looked out the window. He made it clear that he didn't want to talk about the matter further. After all, there wasn't a lot that his friends could do about the whole situation.

As Sirius watched the grounds roll by outside the carriage window, the castle looming closer and closer, he tried to ignore the whispered conversation that the other three were having. Sirius was pretty sure it was about him and his situation and what James and Remus, with the help of Peter, were going to do about it. Sirius didn't want to think about it. Maybe Regulus wouldn't be sorted into Slytherin. There was no point worrying about it now.

Finally, the carriage came to a stop in front of the large ornate doors that were the entrance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The four boys carefully exited, dragging their trunks and other belongings behind them. A crowd of their fellow students exiting their own carriages and attempting to make their way into the castle quickly met them.

The large group of students was making quite a racket, as boys and girls excitedly interacted with people they hadn't seen in several months time. The loud cacophony that all but assaulted his ears was extremely welcome to Sirius. Besides his mother's yelling and complaining, the Black residence of number 12 Grimmauld Place was extremely quiet. Nothing like the sounds of pure joy that were filling the Entrance Hall at Hogwarts would ever be hear in the austere household.

"It's good to be back," Sirius commented to no one in particular. The other boys made various noises of agreement. The quartet had come upon a large stack of luggage, most like the trunks and belongings of the students in front of them. They followed suit, depositing their trunks on the large pile, before continuing on into the Great Hall.

As they slowly moved, Sirius felt an elbow nudge him in his right ribs. He was nearly ready to turn on whoever was nudging him, perhaps send a quick hex their way, when he realised it was only James trying to get his attention over the volume of the crowd.

"Snivellus," James commented, pointing off to their left. Sirius turned to look in the direction indicated and, sure enough, there was the greasy haired boy. He recognized the fiery redhead beside him as fellow Gryffindor Lily Evans. Apparently, the sight of them together wasn't sitting well with James as he had a deep scowl on his face.

"If there weren't so many people around, I'd hex him right here, right now. You know, to remind him of his place at school," James grumbled under his breath. Sirius clasped his friend on the shoulder.

"Well have to wait a little for his magical reminder," Sirius' trademark mischievous glint appeared in his eyes as he turned to face James full on. "But there's nothing stopping us from talking to him right now." Sirius then turned back to the direction where Snape was. he drew himself up to his full height, then cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Oi! Snivellus!" he called over the crowd. At Sirius' call, Snape's body stiffened, but he didn't look around. Sirius continued, undaunted. "Have a good summer? James and I sure did! We learned a lot of new spells we can't wait to try out!" Sirius let his implied threat hand in the air. Snape tried to push quicker through the crowd, while Lily shot Sirius and, by extension, James an irritated angry look before following after Snape. James snickered at Sirius' antics, before focusing on making it to the Gryffindor table.

Once through the doorway, the crowd opened up. Students spread out in all different directions, headed for their house table to settle in for that year's sorting. Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter made a beeline for the Gryffindor table and managed to get seats beside Lily, and the other Gryffindor second years: Marlene McKinnon, Victoria Chisholm, Claire Wilde, Joyce Towler, and Karen Frobisher. Lily looked like she wanted to say something, probably an admonishment about Sirius' very loosely veiled threat. Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, luckily prevented her from doing so.

"Welcome back! Professor Greensleigh, if you are ready, please bring in the first years!" he spoke, his tone jovial. Dumbledore then returned to his seat as a side door in the Great Hall opened. The Deputy Headmaster, and Herbology professor, Professor Greensleigh entered the Great Hall. He was wearing bright green robes that left the round man looking like some sort of unripe fruit. A stream of young, fresh-faced students followed him. Some were clearly nervous, others taken by the majesty of the moment, and others still strode confidently behind the fruit-like man.

Sirius instantly spotted his bother, Regulus. The older Black could tell the younger boy was nervous, but was trying to act confident. Those who didn't know him as well as Sirius did would be fooled by the act, but Sirius knew that, under his confident exterior, the younger Black was quite nervous about what his sorting would result in. Sirius hadn't talked to his bother a lot in the recent months. Regulus' drive to impress his parents had driven a wedge between the once close brothers that had only widened when Sirius had been sorted into Gryffindor and had told his family he was glad about it. However, Sirius and Regulus did have one conversation before Sirius had left for James' that gave the older Black hope in his younger brother.

" _But what if I'm sorted like you. It'll break Mum's heart and she and Dad will surely disown me!" Regulus fretted, sitting on the edge of his brother's bed. His head dropped into his hands as he contemplated all that disownment could mean._

" _Then we'll get by on our own," Sirius responded confidently. "Besides, Reg, Mum and Dad are wrong, about a lot of things. Gryffindor is an amazing house and you'd fit in perfectly. You're plenty brave and courageous and all that."_

"You think?" Regulus had whispered it so quietly that Sirius had almost missed it. When his brother finally looked up at him, Sirius caught the hopeful glint in his younger brother's eyes.

" _I know."_

As Sirius watched his younger brother cross the Great Hall and finally came to rest before a rickety old stool and a warn hat, he hoped and prayed that his brother was enough like him. If Regulus were sorted into Gryffindor, it may be the first step to get the youngest Black out from under his parents' thumb.

Once the first years were in place, a hush fell over the entire Great Hall. Everyone was eagerly waiting what was about to happen next. After a few seconds of silence the rip near the brim of the old hat began to issues a melody and the Hat itself began to sing.

 _Welcome back and welcome here_

 _To a wondrous, amazing school_

 _In these vast halls and lofty rooms_

 _You'll receive a tremendous tool_

 _The magic you will surely gain_

 _Will help you once you leave_

 _Outside these walls villains await_

 _Success you much achieve_

 _But first, be patient, do not rush_

 _A home you must be given_

 _So put me on and let me see_

 _The secrets you have hidden_

 _The founders of this regal school_

 _Entrusted me this task_

 _Please help up place these students here_

 _Into a house, they ask_

 _There was the smart which Ravenclaw_

 _The wisest of the bunch_

 _Her bright and brainy chosen ones_

 _Have problems solved by lunch_

 _Or perhaps sweet Hufflepuff_

 _Will pick you as her own_

 _With her hardwork is praised_

 _And loyalty is grown_

 _Maybe with proud Gryffindor_

 _Is where you'll find your place_

 _Be brave, be strong, and show no fear_

 _Upon your youthful face_

 _And finally great Slytherin_

 _Could be where you belong_

 _With great zeal and cunning brain_

 _You'll doubtlessly be strong_

 _So wait your turn upon the stool_

 _And let me see you mind_

 _I'll weigh your thoughts, and dreams, and doubts_

 _A home for you, I'll find_

The Sorting Hat finished it's song, then fell silent. The students seated around the various tables loudly cheered, showing their obvious appreciation of the song. Once the applause had died down, Professor Greensleigh moved to stand before the students and silently instructed all noise to stop. He then addressed the first years standing before him, briefly explaining the process. Once all of that was done, he unravelled a long piece of parchment and began to read from it.

"Abernathy, Malcolm," he called. A nervous looking blond boy with a pudgy appearance slowly walked up to the stool. The Deputy Headmaster placed the hat on the boy's head. Everyone in the Great Hall waited on baited breath, before the Hat finally made its proclamation.

"Gryffindor!" James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter cheered along with the rest of their house at their newest member, then fell silent so Greensleigh could read the next few names.

"Aldecot, Kristen," Greensleigh called. A pretty girl with dark brown hair in light ringlets bounced up to the Sorting Hat.

"Ravenclaw!" the Hat quickly proclaimed.

Anderson, Patrick was sorted into Hufflepuff and Banister, Franklin was sorted into Slytherin in quick succession. Then it was finally the moment that Sirius had been waiting for.

"Black, Regulus," Greensleigh called, and Sirius' younger brother proudly marched up to the Sorting Hat. The brim slipped down so far that only his dark, piercing eyes could be seen below the brim. They were the same dark eyes as Sirius, but much less warm and welcoming. It appeared that the elder Blacks' distaste had manifested themselves in Regulus in the form of a constant judgemental look.

"Slytherin!" the Sorting Hat declared. Sirius' heart broke.

* * *

The rest of the sorting passed as a blur to the longhaired Black. After his brother had been sorted, all the other names of first years were meaningless. On top of that, Sirius was still reeling, his head still spinning. He'd hoped, he'd prayed, he'd truly begun to believe that his brother wouldn't be a Slytherin. He brother was still so young, still so impressionable. Being in Slytherin would corrupt his brother even more than his parents already had.

Suddenly, a thought struck Sirius. His brother needed someone to watch out for him, to keep him on the proper track. Keep him away from the dark, seedier aspects of Slytherin house and make sure he came out of school as a halfway decent person. And he knew exactly who he should ask. All he had to do was make it through the welcome feast and then he could put his plan in motion.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Welcome to yet another year of magical education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" the booming voice of Albus Dumbledore sounded out over the crowd. Conversations quickly stopped and all heads swivelled to the head table. Dumbledore stood, a warm smile on his face and his arms open in a welcoming gesture.

"As always, I like to impart some of my wisdom on you at the start of each year. But now is not the time for speech making, but the time for eating. So, all, dig in!" At his words, the tables were magically gilled with the most delicious smelling appetizing meal. Quickly, students began clamouring for the food and filling their plates.

Sirius tried to pay attention to his friends –James was eagerly discussing the adventures they could, and would, get up to that year- but he was having a hard time. His mind kept flitting to thoughts of his brother. Unfortunately, Sirius had sat with his back to the Slytherin tables and couldn't check in on his brother without being extremely obvious about it.

Dinner passed almost excruciatingly slowly, as if time was messing with him. Finally, the platters vanished and were replaced with sweets and puddings and other desserts. Sirius carefully picked at a few sweet things, but didn't really eat much. James shot him several concerned looks, but thankfully didn't press the longhaired boy. He could tell that Sirius would gladly open up to him when he was ready.

"Yet another delicious feast!" Dumbledore spoke into the crowd once again. Most of the platters that had once contained desserts were now nearly empty. "My compliments to the chefs! Now, on to more important business. As always, any magic is strictly prohibited within the hallways and corridors. Save it for your common rooms and classrooms. The Forbidden Forest is, as should be abundantly obvious, forbidden to all students who do not have express permission or a death wish.

"As we move into the near year, I want each and every one of you to remember something. Last year, unfortunately, completion and the allure of victory proved too enticing to some. It created quite the disruption and definitely had ill effects on the rest of the school. So, this year, I want each and every one of you to focus on cooperation. In dark times, only by banding together can we surmount any and all obstacles.

"Now, it is late. Off to bed with the lot of you!" Dumbledore dismissed the students with a flourish and a nod to the new fifth year prefects whose responsibility it was to show the new first years to the appropriate common room. The students stood and began talking to each other. Sirius quickly shot to his feet, finally free.

"I'll meet you at the dorms. I think I've come up with a way to help alleviate some of my concerns that I've been having with my brother and Slytherin. I'll tell you how it goes later!" he called to James, Remus, and Peter as he disappeared into the crowd. It would be a difficult task, trying to find a single person in this sea of humanity, but Sirius was determined.

"Moira! Oi, Moira!" Sirius called after he'd been searching through the crowd for a good five minutes. He spotted his target, luckily enough, as the crowd parted and headed off in the different directions of the dorms. Moira, as expected, was headed for the dungeons. The long, dark haired girl, her frame appearing thinner than the last time Sirius had seen her as they boarded the train earlier that summer, slowly turned. When she saw Sirius, a less than impressed expression crossed her face.

"What do you want now, Black?" she asked, her tone exasperated. Sirius may have asked Moira to spy on her own house last year, and made several disparaging remarks about Slytherins while doing so, but surely she couldn't be upset about that? It happened months ago, and Sirius had been right about the group of Slytherins he'd asked her to spy on.

"I won't be spying on my own hour or anything like that again. So, if that's what you want, you'll have to find someone else." She levelled him with an expression that would have turned away a more timid man.

"I have an easier, less morally ambiguous request for you. As I'm sure you know, my younger brother was sorted into Slytherin tonight. I was hoping you could, you know, keep an eye out for him. Make sure he stays out of trouble and any, you know, problems." Sirius gave Moira Scott his biggest puppy dog eyes, but her expression only darkened.

"Slytherin is NOT a terrible, evil house!" she shouted, "I'll keep an eye out for your brother, but so he isn't corrupted by the troublemaking likes of you!" Moira then turned on her heel and stormed off. Sirius was left standing in the rapidly emptying hallway, dumbstruck by her hostile reaction. He'd thought they were friends, or at least friendly. He had not been expecting her to be so mean.

"Well, it's nice to see someone I your family has some sense," a snide voice spoke from Sirius' left. He turned slowly and saw the greasy haired form of Snivellus sliding up beside him. Normally, Sirius would have shot Snape down with a single word or spell, but the longhaired boy was still reeling from that nights events, from one disappointment followed by another.

"Go away, Snivellus. No one asked for your slimy opinion," Sirius half-heartedly shot back.

"Oh, but your brother did," Snape commented before he too strode off down the hallway. Sirius clenched his fists in anger, feeling the rage bubble up inside of him. He would never let the greasy Snape anywhere near his brother.


	5. Chapter 5: Same Old Song and Dance

_If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude_

 _~Maya Angelou_

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

 **The Same Old Song and Dance**

* * *

After the welcome back feast, and Sirius' rather abrupt departure. Remus, James, and Peter slowly made their way to the Gryffindor common room. James had thought it might be fun to spend their first evening back wandering some of the hallways and trying to discern more of the castle's secrets, but Sirius' preoccupation with his younger brother, and his desperate need to do something, alone, immediately after dinner, had put a damper on James' initial plans.

Now, they were simply making slow progress back towards their dorm room, pushing the boundaries of their curfew. Remus suspected that part of the reason James was lollygagging had to do with Sirius. If the three of them were still out when their forth returned, there was potential to salvage James' plan.

However, even despite the large amount of heel dragging that James partook in, by the time they reached the Fat Lady, the entrance to Gryffindor common room, Sirius still hadn't appeared. James came to rest in front of the portrait, and then turned around slowly, observing the corridor around him. Empty. There wasn't a soul to be seen, not even the first year. They'd passed Remus, James, and Peter about ten minutes ago, the new fifth-year prefects shooting the second-years looks that Remus guessed were meant to discourage them from troublemaking and encourage them along.

"Vici," Remus spoke in response to the Fat Lady's questioning, and slightly annoyed, expression. Frank Longbottom, sixth-year prefect and Gryffindor's newest Quidditch captain, had given them the password at dinner. Upon hearing the correct command, the Fat Lady swung open, revealing a small passageway. Cheery voices and the warm crackle of a fire sounded through the passage. After a defeated sigh, James followed Remus and Peter into the common room.

"They'll be plenty of time for hijinks, James," Remus asserted, trying to comfort the obviously distraught boy. James nodded half-heartedly, then moved to join the revelry in the common room.

* * *

Sirius arrived back at the common room about twenty minutes after Remus, James, and Peter. He entered, his expression angry and upset, and immediately turned towards the boys' dormitories. Without searching out his friends, he began to climb the stairs. James, who had lost all traces of his previous sour mood while celebrating the return to Hogwarts with the newly minted Gryffindors, forgot about everything else and followed after his distraught friend, Peter hot on his heels.

"What do you think has Sirius all upset?" Lily Evans asked Remus. The skinny boy had been drawn to the second-year girls because he much preferred their discussion of the new magic they would be learning that year to the wildly gesticulating conversation about Quidditch James was having with Longbottom, Price, and Wilde. They, along with the Gryffindor keeper, a boy named Albert Hewitt who was currently preoccupied with shoving his tongue down a girl's throat, were the only remaining members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. James was apparently trying to impress them with his knowledge of the plays flown by Puddlemere United, and their varying degrees of effectiveness. Remus, for his part, decided to stay out of it.

"Not sure. I should go and find out," Remus responded, standing slowly from his chair. Lily shrugged, clearly showing her indifference, then turned back to her girl friends. The skinny haired boy followed his friends up the stairs, arriving at the second-year dormitory.

"…here for you," he heard James saying as he entered. Sirius lay, face down, on his bed. He'd buried his head under his pillow and was making a soft groaning sound as if he were experiencing mild physical discomfort.

"My impressionable little brother, who has already adapted far too many of my parents' bad habits, has been sorted into Slytherin. I tried to ask Moira Scott to keep an eye on him, keep him on the right path and all that, but my truthful statements that there are some very bad seeds in Slytherin apparently offended her. She implied that _I_ was the bad seen before storming off.

"Then, with my mind preoccupied, Snape came up and taunted me. Said he'd look after my brother! I should have hexed him where he stood, but I was still so shocked from Moira's refusal that the slimy snake got away." Sirius spoke with his face still in the pillow, so his words came out slightly muffled. He punctuated his statement with one final, agonized groan.

James immediately leapt into actin, plopping down on his own bed beside Sirius.

"We'll just have to get Snape back. Something so spectacular he'll know better than to try and taunt us!" James exclaimed. At his friend's impassioned tone, Sirius rolled over, his expression anguished. James simply continued brainstorming ideas of how they could get back at Snape. Eventually, he seemed to entice Sirius out of his mood and before long it was the pair of them brainstorming, just as it had been last year. They worked late into the night, talking much as they had on their first night at Hogwarts.

* * *

The next morning, the four now second-year Gryffindor boys awoke to a loud bell. A little worried that, due to their late night discussions, they might oversleep breakfast and miss the handing out of their schedules, Remus had charmed a small bell to ring and wake them up. In had loudly clanged through their dorm room, rousing Remus relatively peacefully. Sirius and James, on the other hand, had apparently still been deep asleep because, at the loud sound, both had sprung up. Sirius had done so with such force that he toppled out of his bed and landed on the floor.

"You didn't have anything subtler, Remus? Like a gong? Look, you've sent Sirius to the floor," James spoke, a wry smile on his face. He had managed to stay in his bed, though he hadn't looked all too pleased, even with that fact.

"It's a bell," Remus spoke, pulling a sweater over his head. "It could have been a horn, or your gong." The sandy haired boy returned his friend's wry smile. From his place on the floor, Sirius groaned before finally pulling himself up. James flung off his covers and got out of bed. Then, together, the two boys started getting ready.

"Fair enough," Sirius responded, grabbing his toiletries and heading for the bathroom. Only inches form the door, it was flung open, smacking Sirius in the face. An oblivious Peter stood, ready for the day, looking at the goings-on in the room. It wasn't until Sirius groaned from behind the door that Peter realised what he'd done.

"Oh my! Sirius! I'm so sorry! I didn't realise you were there! I didn't hear footsteps or anything! I'm so sorry! I should've been more careful! I'm so sorry!" Peter instantly began blubbering apologues and fawning over the brooding male. Sirius just waved off his friend before entering the bathroom and shutting the door. Peter stood, rooted in place, blinking back tears; the whole situation had obviously upset him.

James immediately jumped in to assure Peter that Sirius wasn't upset at him. That the other boy's mood was probably a combination of residual anger and disappointment from the day before combined with a rather rude awakening that morning. Peter seemed to accept the explanation, and then quietly went to sit on his bed to wait for the others. Remus, James, and Sirius –still in the bathroom- got dressed and ready as quick as they could.

When Sirius re-emerged from the bathroom, he was still in a foul mood, a deep scowl marring his handsome face. James, accurately reading the situation, non-verbally warned Remus and Peter that it might be best to give Sirius some space. So the four of them entered the noisy Great Hall in complete silence.

Thankfully, the delicious smell of the breakfast foods enticingly laid out on the tables seemed to soften Sirius' mood. He took one deep inhale of the combination of freshly baked goods, bacon, and peppery eggs, and his scowl changed to his characteristic smirk. He then ploughed through the Hall to empty seats at the Gryffindor table, plopped himself down, and began piling food onto his plate.

"Good morning, gentlemen," the stern, though warm, voice of Professor McGonagall spoke from over Remus' shoulder about ten minutes after they'd sat down. "I trust your summers' were good and you've returned to school ready to learn." As she spoke, she shot each one of them a warning look. Remus was sure she was letting them know that she expected only learning from them that year and none of the other funny business they'd gotten up to the year before. But it was some of that funny business that had unveiled the secret Slytherin broom tampering conspiracy. Once McGonagall looked each of them in the eye, she handed out their schedules.

The four boys quickly looked at the order of their classes that year. Remus was a little disheartened to see that their free period/ flying lesson on Friday afternoons from last year had been replaces. That mean another class and less time to get their work done. Remus sighed.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts first thing today," James spoke, his tone disheartened. James and the professor who taught Defence Against the Dark Arts the year before, Professor Strinkley, didn't exactly have the greatest track record. Especially since James thought Professor Strinkley had played some role in the Quidditch broom tampering. Though he'd never been implicated, James was positive Strinkley had helped in some way.

"Maybe Dumbledore finally realised what a pureblood bigot Strinkley was and fired him," Sirius spoke, the first time since Peter had opened a door in his face that morning. "Maybe we have a new, amazing Defence Against the Dark Arts professor." A flash of hope crossed James' face at the words, though Remus was pretty sure he'd seen Strinkley at the welcome back feast the night before. There also hadn't been any news faces at the head table. But Remus chose to keep his mouth shut.

When the four Gryffindor boys, as well as the five Gryffindor girls and the second-year Ravenclaws entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom a half an hour later, it was to see the sneering face of none other than Professor Strinkley. Remus still kept his mouth shut. He didn't think that rubbing his friends' shattered hopes in their face would be a smart move.

"Well," James, spoke, crestfallen, "at least we don't have Defence Against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins this year. Strinkley won't be able to teat us as badly because his favourite house is here. We're probably on fairly equal footing with the Ravenclaws."

* * *

James' assessment had been fairly accurate. Whereas last year, the Gryffindors had been treated like dirt while the Slytherins had been treated like kings, this year both houses were treated equally. Equally bad, but at least their noses weren't as obviously rubbed in Professor Strinkley's favouritism. Both Gryffindor students and Ravenclaw students were yelled at for their lack of knowledge and poor skill. And, when James had correctly identified the correct way to do away with Nogtails (by chasing them off a farm with a pure white dog) Professor Strinkley had even awarded Gryffindor five points.

"He must have had a good summer," Ravenclaw second-year Terrance Fancourt said as they left the classroom.

"What makes you say that?" James, who had been eavesdropping, butted in. "I mean, sure, I got awarded points, but he was still absolutely awful! Yelling and demeaning and everything."

"Well," replied a pretty Ravenclaw girl named Melody Clearwater, "when we were with the Hufflepuffs last year, Strinkley never awarded points. Even when someone answered a difficult question or quickly mastered a spell." The Ravenclaws then hurried off down a hallway to their next class, leaving the Gryffindors standing, slightly shocked.

"Better not let that go to your head, Potter. It might explode if it gets any bigger," the sweet voice of Lily Evans responded from behind James. She and her friends then pushed passed the boys and continued on towards Charms.

* * *

But James did let it go to his head. He was the first person in their year, that wasn't a Slytherin, who had been awarded points by Strinkley. Remus could easily see the cockiness that the fact elicited in the messy haired boy. In fact, James was so proud of himself that he, and a much less sullen Sirius, barely paid attention in Charms. Instead of taking notes on what Professor Flitwick was saying about enlargement and shrinking charms, the two discretely practiced jinxes on each other.

They continued their tomfoolery into potions, which, unlike Defence Against the Dark Arts, was once again with Slytherins. Professor Slughorn had, slightly ironically Remus mused, set the Forgetfulness Potion as a refresher to see how much they had retained over the summer. James, who had been a determined and focused, potion-maker last year, was still on such a high from Strinkley's five points that instead of working on his own potion he was messing with people's cauldrons.

As he walked through the classroom under the guise of collecting ingredients, he cast heating and cooling charms on various cauldrons, both Slytherin and Gryffindor alike. Though his Gryffindor targets were only Sirius and Remus. The sandy haired boy was about to make a comment to James that he really should focus on his own potion when Snape's cauldron suddenly shattered, no longer able to withstand the switching between hot and cold that James had been charming it to.

Cauldron shrapnel flew throughout the classroom, causing several students to duck out of the way. Snape's nearly complete Forgetfulness Potion, no longer contained, and began seeping off of his desk. Professor Slughorn quickly jumped into action and disappeared the liquid before it could touch anyone and potentially cause him or her to forget something.

"Ho ho," Professor Slughorn chuckled once the crisis was averted and the mess had been cleaned up. "Those older cauldrons can be quite brittle, what with those years of heating and cooling. Messes with even the best of metals. I should probably go through the lot and make sure there aren't any more that'll explode. Care to join me, Mr. Snape? Make up for the incomplete I'll unfortunately have to give you."

Professor Slughorn genially clapped Snape on the shoulder. The greasy haired boy looked about ready to protest, but swallowed his rage and just nodded mechanically at Slughorn's offer. At their bench, James and Sirius were trying very hard not to burst out laughing. They'd gotten away scot-free and didn't want to draw any attention to themselves that would change that.

"Well, with that excitement I'd say it's time to end our class today. Please bottle whatever you managed to brew and then clean up the rest. See you next time!" Professor Slughorn called over the sound of students cleaning up and preparing to leave.

Once out in the hallway, James and Sirius let themselves be overcome by their laughter. Peter joined in with the usual congratulatory and praise-filled comments. Remus just stared at the two.

"What?" James finally asked, regaining control. "Didn't you find it hilarious to see Snape's cauldron explode in his face?"

"At the rate you were going, it could have easily been my cauldron, James. You shouldn't have been so cocky and focused on your own potion!" Remus, slightly frustrated at James and Sirius and tired from a lack of sleep, began making his way to Transfiguration, not caring if the others were following.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched a very irate Snape approach the new trio. He, along with a giddy James and Sirius, quickly began exchanging verbal insults and threats. Now feeling bad for abandoning the others, even though James and Sirius were fully capable of handling the situation themselves, Remus moved to re-join his friends. However, a hand on his shoulder halted him.

Uneasy, Remus turned to see Headmaster Dumbledore. The older man thankfully wasn't looking at the conflict down the hall, but down at Remus. His expression was of warmth tinged with concern. Instantly, Remus knew why the Headmaster had sought him out. as he followed Dumbledore into an unused classroom, Remus couldn't help but think how nothing had changed over the summer. It was all still the same old song and dance.


	6. Chapter 6: An Honour Besmirched

_My honour was not yielded, but conquered merely_

 _~Cleopatra_

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

 **An Honour Besmirched**

* * *

Sirius was back. Hogwarts was the first real home he had and, after spending nearly an entire summer dealing with his parents and their ideals, he has missed the halls immensely. The first few days had been a little rocky. His brother was sorted into Slytherin, and then the one decent Slytherin he knew, Moira Scott, had tuned down his request to keep an eye out for him. His first day of class had started off with him getting a door to the face and ended up with him and James bickering with Snape.

Since then, though, things had started to turn around for him. Schoolwork was as easy as ever. He and James quickly returned to their joking and goofing off of last year, like they hadn't missed a single beat. Defence Against the Dark Arts was even improving. Apparently, when not being compared to the Slytherin house, the Gryffindors were actually pretty decent and Professor Strinkley was more tolerable. Sirius wasn't overly happy that the despicable professor was still around, still teaching, but at least Defence Against the Dark Arts wouldn't be as torturous.

The biggest turn around though, was in the Snape department. Though James had scored a victory when he'd blown up Snape's cauldron that had really been an accident. And Snape had still been going around, acting fairly confident and cocky. They needed to knock him down a few rungs to where he really belonged.

Finally, a week into classes, Sirius managed something in that vein when, in the corridor between classes the second Monday back, Sirius sent a breaking spell that caused Severus Snape's pants to fall down around his ankles. The humiliation was swift as, almost immediately, the students that were gathered around began pointing and laughing. In a flurry of movement, Snape gathered up his pants and fled from the area.

He was definitely knocked down at least a rung.

* * *

"Now, before we move on to the practical application of animal transfigurations, beginning with changing mice into rats, I need to ensure that you've all grasped the theoretical aspects. So, I want two inches on all that we've reviewed by Friday. That is all." Professor McGonagall spoke as the second-year students began clearing up for the end of the day.

"How is it," James asked as he slung his bag over his shoulder, "that we're only two weeks into school and this is like the forth paper we've been assigned? Are they trying to overwhelm us and burry us under mountains of work? Shouldn't there be like a grace period? A welcome back moment where we get used to being back? And if this is how the year starts, what will the rest of this year be like?"

As the four Gryffindor boys exited the classroom, James continued to complain about the workload. They'd been assigned a paper in Charms, Herbology, and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Now, they had a Transfiguration paper, as well as the normal spell practice. It was a fair amount of work, especially so early in the semester. However, Sirius wasn't paying any attention to his friend's griping.

He'd walked out of the Transfiguration classroom and it felt like all eyes were on him. This wasn't a particularly odd occurrence. For year, Sirius had been extremely aware of his appearance, of the way that others perceived him. He was good-looking with deep, soulful dark eyes ringed by long eyelashes. He had chiselled features and flawless skin. All things that were considered traditionally attractive features. As a result, Sirius was used to being stared at.

But these stares were different. They weren't filled with the traditional looks of adoration, jealousy, or lust. These were knowing looks, mirthful looks, looks that said they knew something about him. In addition, they were now accompanied with whispers and quiet side-conversations. People would look up at Sirius, then turn back to their friends before quietly talking amongst each other, continuing to shoot looks at Sirius.

He moved to confront those who were whispering and staring, and as soon as he took a step in their direction, all whispered conversation stopped. He began to prepare for the confrontation, to bluster and yell, and generally act like he was not affected by the stares and whispers. However, he didn't make it much closer than a few steps from the nearest group before he was stopped. James, unaware of what was going on around him, threw his arm over Sirius' shoulders and began dragging him towards the Great Hall and the awaiting dinner.

"Come on. No dawdling. We've got a lot of work to do, so we can't waste any time. A quick dinner and then we'll camp out in the common room and get through at least one essay. That way, there will be plenty of time for some Quidditch practice and rabble-rousing this weekend." James then pulled Sirius away from the whispers, unaware of Sirius' preoccupation.

* * *

Unfortunately for Sirius, he was afforded very little time to puzzle out the whispers. There was schoolwork, Quidditch practices that James wholeheartedly insisted upon, and pranking Snape. Though, the force that was keeping him the busiest was James. Sirius could have spent time on his puzzle in James wasn't constantly pulling him in different directions. Whenever Sirius was close, James would swoop in and spirit him away. Sirius could have yelled out for answers, but he didn't want to draw unwanted attention to himself. The whispering was already becoming omnipresent, though his friends had yet to notice.

No, Sirius wanted to talk to the whisperers inconspicuously. He wanted to know what was going on, but he didn't need and/ or want the whole castle to know. Whatever they were whispering about, it was highly likely that it was embarrassing. And, Sirius had been working hard to cultivate an easy-going, laissez-faire type attitude. He didn't want to look like things bothered him; he wanted to look as if he was too cool and above it all. Yelling out in frustration at the people fairly obviously talking about him would not be conducive to his image.

So, Sirius was forced to wait. He needed a moment when he was positive people knew what was going on, because, despite his rapidly growing paranoia, not everyone in the school was talking about him. He also needed a moment when, seconds before he was finally successful, James didn't steer him in a different direction. If he didn't know any better, he might have thought the messy haired boy was doing it on purpose.

"I'm telling you, it's absolutely genius! Snape will have no idea what hit him, which will be hilarious! And, because it's fairly obvious, no one will be suspecting it! Snape won't have his guard up or anything! It'll be the easiest prank yet!" James excitedly exclaimed. It was the middle of September and classes had been in for a little over two weeks. The boys were walking through the fairly sparse hallways on a Saturday afternoon on a mission to find hidden passageways.

Sirius was half focused on that task, but was also on the lookout for anyone who could explain what all the whispering and looks were about. However, because of the warm fall weather, most students were outside, soaking up whatever warmth they could get before winter set in. They were excellent conditions for the four Gryffindors desired escapades, but not for Sirius' side mission.

"I'm just worried that it is so obvious that we'll get in trouble for it. It can't be explained away as an accident and, seeing as you and Sirius are so well-known for your tormenting of Snape, it could easily land you in detention," Remus cautioned as they descended a staircase towards the dungeons, and rounded a corner.

"Bring it on!" James responded. Three of the four boys continued down the corridor, focused on their conversation. Sirius, however, had rounded the corner and frozen in place. Both walls of the corridor were nearly covered in papers. This, in and of itself, wasn't all that strange. Students would often post flyers around the school, advertising various clubs or items for sale, or asking for help. The strange part, the reason that Sirius had frozen, was that these particular flyers seemed to have his name on them.

He hadn't seen any posters like them before, but a small voice inside of him was screaming that they had something to do with new and unwanted attention that he had been experiencing over the past few days. Cautiously, he moved closer to the posters so he could read what they said.

* * *

 _Think you know the real Sirius Black?_

 _*Dashing second-year Gryffindor_

 _*Brave, courageous, and willing to face danger_

 _*Skilled spell-caster and decent student_

 _*Prankster king responsible for a school wide gibberish pandemic and a snowball fight in June_

 _*Member of an ancient and proud pureblood family_

 _*Best friend of James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew_

 _While all those may be true, there is much, much more. Here is the real Sirius Black:_

 _*As a child, he had terrible nightmares in which he woke up screaming about fairies and pixies chasing after him_

 _*When he was seven, while visiting the grand estate of a fellow pureblood family, he was chased around the grounds by some stately peacocks_

 _*The first time he flew a broom, he could only get a foot off the ground and after only a few seconds, flew straight into a tree_

* * *

The posters title, asking if readers thought they knew who Sirius Black really was, was what first caught Sirius' eye. It was dark and bold, screaming out at the passer by to take a closer look. That was just what Sirius had done, and as he'd read the text, elegantly scripted, his heart fell.

Each poster was slightly different, but the general feel of them were coherent. Each poster held praises of him that made him look like quite the appealing individual. Then, that was quickly torn down. The poster loudly proclaimed some of his deepest, darkest secrets. They were things that he hadn't even told James, Remus, and Peter. And now everyone knew them.

Along with the three secrets on the poster in front of him, there were also tales of the terrible, unflattering, and downright awful things his mother had spewed at him over the years. As Sirius read those, something clicked in his brain. There was only on person who could have known all of those things about him.

"Regulus," he muttered angrily under his breath before storming away from the others.

* * *

Sirius was pacing in front of the Slytherin dormitories. He didn't care, this time, if someone from Slytherin saw him. He wasn't hiding. In fact, he wanted to be spotted, wanted it to get back to his brother that he was angrily waiting for him. Sirius had even yelled at a few Slytherins that he was looking for Regulus Black and if they spotted him to send his younger brother to the awaiting Gryffindor.

"Sirius!" James yelled, running down the hallway with a piece of paper clutched in his hand. When Sirius had realised that his brother was sharing all of his deepest, darkest secrets, he'd just left. He hadn't explained anything to his friends. However, it appeared that his friends had figured it out.

"What's all this about?" James asked, coming to stop in front of Sirius. Remus and Peter were right on his heels. James waved the paper in front of Sirius' face, as if to drive his question home.

"Some Slytherins must be putting those up, and I'm pretty sure they've been doing it all week. People have been staring at me and whispering about something all week. I only just realised what it was all about when I saw those!" Sirius continued to pace as he explained. "And there's only one person currently at Hogwarts who would know all those things.

"Snape said he'd get to my brother. I just didn't expect Regulus to cave this early! If only I'd been able to convince Moira to look out for him! And Snape is still far too high and mighty, using my brother to try and get back at me. At us! Obviously we need to do more, make sure our lesson really sticks." As Sirius talked and paced he got angrier and angrier.

"Whatever you need," James spoke up, clapping Sirius on the shoulder and momentarily halting the pacing. James then looked Sirius in the eye, making sure that Sirius grasped the weight of James' words, "Whatever you need, we're here for you. Got that? We've always got your back."

Sirius nodded at James, acknowledging the other boy's words. He looked away from his friend's intense brown eyes. James' little speech, and the fact that someone he'd know for such a relatively short time was by his side no matter what, had caused slightly unwanted emotions to overwhelm Sirius. His family had essentially disowned him, his brother had turned his back on him, but Sirius still had his friends. No matter what.

"Thanks," Sirius finally spoke after he collected himself. "But, right now, I think I should talk to my brother on my own. Maybe I can talk to him, brother to brother, about this whole thing, you know? I'll meet you back at the common room."

James, at first, looked like he wasn't about to leave his friend, but after some prodding from both Remus and Sirius, the messy haired boy relented. As James, Remus, and Peter left the hallway in front of the Slytherin common room, Regulus himself walked passed them. Luckily, James let the younger Black continued on to his brother. James shot Sirius a look over his shoulder to ensure that the older Black was sure before the trio finally disappeared around the corner.

Sirius was alone with Regulus for the first time since they'd arrived at Hogwarts.

Regulus tried acting like he didn't notice his older brother and attempted to walk passed the angry male. However, Sirius' reflexes were fairly quick thanks to hours of Quidditch practice with James. His arm shot out and grabbed Regulus' wrist. The other boy stopped and, slightly reluctantly, turned to face Sirius.

"What do you want?" Regulus asked, feigning ignorance.

'Just like a Slytherin,' Sirius thought, 'not admitting to anything unless confronted by it.' The calmness and lack of remorse that Regulus was showing only served to anger Sirius further.

"What do I want?" Sirius spat. He then bent down to collect the poster James had dropped before he left. When he stood back up, Sirius shoved it in his brother's face. "I want an explanation for this!"

Regulus finally seemed to clue into his brother's mood and any hostility or defence the young Black was feeling disappeared. Instead, he dropped his head and hunched his shoulders. Sirius interpreted it as shame for sharing his older brother's secrets, humiliating him in the process.

"Severus kept asking about you. At first I was only giving him banal information, nothing bad, but also nothing really good. He didn't seem interested in that and just kept pressuring me. And I really wanted the older Slytherins to like me! It's not easy being the brother of a Gryffindor! Especially a Gryffindor responsible for disqualifying the entire Slytherin Quidditch team last year! The Black name doesn't even do much to help! So I told him some bad things about you, but I didn't know that he was going to make posters with it!" As Regulus spoke, some of his defensiveness returned.

"You know how I feel about Snivellus, and undoubtedly you must know how much he feels about me! How could you do something so stupid? Of course he'd use what you said against me! You're my brother! We need to look out for each other!" Regulus returned to his previous, slightly haughty posture as anger began to build in his eyes. His jaw clenched and several veins in his face became more prominent.

"How can you say that when you've never looked out for me? You think everything I do, everything I say, everything I am is terrible! You're my own brother and you hate everything about me! No! We don't stick up for each other, and the people in there," Regulus pointed at the ornate entrance to the Slytherin common room, "they're my real family!" Regulus then stormed off, leaving Sirius fuming alone in the hallway. As he watched his brother's form disappear behind the door, he vowed to get even with Snape. After all, it was that greasy snake's fault that his brother was acting this way.


	7. Chapter 7: Into the Game

_You can't just beat a team; you have to lave a lasting impression in their minds so they never want to see you again._

 _~Mia Hamm_

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

 **Into the Game**

* * *

Three weeks into second year, and James felt that it was shaping up like his first year had. His classes were similar, all taught by the same professors as last year so James didn't experience any of the learning curve of the year before. He knew what each professor, from McGonagall, to Flitwick, to Binns, and to Strinkley, required of him, he knew how much work and he much focus he needed to put in. He also knew how much he could be easier, despite the increased workload.

Also, after the initial blips in which Snape managed to get one up on Sirius and James, the Gryffindor duo had managed to get back at the slimy Slytherin more times than the Slytherin had gotten them. They'd vanished his books while he was working in the library. They'd made Snape's books fly out of his arms in between classes and then they sent the books flying back at Snape like angry birds. They'd also jinxed him, time and again, with jelly-legs and bat-bogey hexes, as well as several others.

All in all, it was shaping up to be a really excellent year. And, on an oddly warm late September day, the year for James and Sirius got even better. Both boys had been woken up early by the unusually bright sunshine filtering through their windows. As a result, they were leisurely going through their morning routines, lavishing in the extra time they'd been afforded. It was while they were in the common room, finishing up on a few last minute assignments, that James noticed a brand new posting on the common room's message board.

At first, James simply stared at it quizzically, wondering what it said but preoccupied by his unfinished work. However, as soon as he'd finished up, James bolted up and rushed over to the board. The messy haired boy was 99% sure he knew what the posting was about and the potential of it had sent his heart racing.

Sirius, unaware of James' thought process, simply stayed seated. He stared questioningly at his friend as the messy haired boy excitedly raced to the fairly empty board located on the far wall.

 _Fellow Gryffindors_

The headline proclaimed, in what James recognized as Frank Longbottom's almost chicken scratch hand. Eagerly, James read on.

 _Quidditch tryouts will be held_

 _Saturday, October 7_

 _Noon, at the pitch_

 _Come prepared for basic drills and a potential mini-match to assess your abilities. All positions are possible, but special attention will be given to chaser (1), and beater (2)._

 _Frank Longbottom, Quidditch Captain_

"Yes!" James exclaimed loudly, momentarily forgetting the earliness of the hour in his excitement. He raced back to where Sirius was sitting and began to perform a strange dance. Sirius just stared, a look somewhere between concern and amusement on his face.

"You alright, mate?" Sirius asked, a chuckle in his voice. "You weren't bitten by a doxy or something were you?" James belly laughed at Sirius before gracelessly collapsing onto the red sofa beside Sirius.

"No! They just posted that tryouts for the Quidditch team are only a couple of weeks away! It's finally time for us to show off our skills and be rewarded our rightful places on the Gryffindor Quidditch team! Before we know it we'll be hoisting both the Quidditch and House Cups."

Sirius, still a little groggy from his early morning awakening, took a moment to process exactly what James said, but once the words finally clicked, Sirius instantly jumped up. The pair screamed and yelled and dances all around the common room, completely forgetting that it was still early in the morning and that people might still be asleep.

"Ahem," someone loudly cleared his or her throat. James and Sirius stopped their celebrating and turned to look for the source of the sound. They found it immediately. Standing in the archway that led to the girls' dormitories, wearing flannel pyjamas that were decorated with sweets with eyes, was an extremely irate, Lily Evans.

"Yes, Evans. How can we help you," James asked, his tone sincere. Lily just crossed her arms, clenched her teeth and glared at the two sole occupants of the Gryffindor common room. As she did, the tension and awkwardness increased; James and Sirius began to squirm under the intensity of the red haired girls stare.

Finally, Lily broke the mounting tension and spoke, "Some people are trying to get as much rest as possibly before they have to start their day, and the absolute racket the two of you are producing is making that extremely difficult. And for some of us, who actually focus and pay attention in class, being well rested is of the upmost importance. So, it would be greatly appreciated if you would, respectfully, shut up!" Lily then turned on her heel and marched back up the stairs and, most likely, back to the comfortable four-poster bed.

James and Sirius turned to each other, looking a little sheepish, as they watched the angry, cartoon-sweat clad rosette stomp up the girls' stairs. However, as soon as Lily disappeared around the corner, the two boys returned to their celebrating. Though, this time they were much more cognisant of their volume level.

James may have enjoyed Lily's fieriness, but that didn't mean he wanted to be on the receiving end of her full-blown anger.

* * *

It was a long, at times excruciating wait, but finally the cod sun rose on the morning of Saturday, October 7. James hadn't waited very well. He'd practically bounces through the hallways wherever he went. He had a harder time than normal focusing in class and had nearly received a detention from Professor McGonagall as a result. His school assignments and spell work practice went undone as he spent essentially every free second he had practicing for the tryouts. For the two weeks in between when the notice of the tryouts was posted and when the tryouts actually occurred, James' entire life and being revolved around little else than Quidditch.

At breakfast on the seventh, as various owls delivered that day's mail, James, with the assistance of Sirius, was verbally going through different Quidditch plays and manoeuvres. Remus, once the newspaper arrived, buried his nose in stories about some recent disappearances of squibs and muggleborns, and even some muggle disappearances that the Daily Prophet was contending were connected. Peter was busy scratching away at some large roll of parchment, the tip of his tongue caught between his teeth in a classic deep-in-thought pose.

"So," James spoke, suddenly addressing all of his friends and not just Sirius, "everyone ready and excited for today? Sirius and I have been practicing for at least a hundred hours so it should be a good show. Are you going to come and watch? Remus? Peter?" As James spoke, he looked at each boy in turn. Sirius' nodded, before resting his chin casually on his hand and disinterestedly picking at some food on his plate. James suspected that his friend was trying to play off as cool while in reality being just as the first time since the paper arrived. Peter flushed bright red.

"I will be there to support your efforts, James. And yours, Sirius. But I will be sitting comfortably in the stands and not getting anywhere near the pitch. I prefer to watch Quidditch. Not play it," Remus spoke before once again raising the paper and burying his nose in it.

"I'll be there too! And, uh, I, uh, made something for you." Peter started out confident, but quickly became nervous and shifty. As he spoke, he inched the parchment he'd been intensely working on towards James and Sirius. The pair looked down at it. In shimmering red and gold lettering Peter had written the phrases, 'Go James,' 'Go Sirius,' 'Catch the Quaffle,' 'Score the goals,' and 'Beat the keeper.'

James looked up at Peter beaming. "That's brilliant! I'm sure no one else will have a cheering section quite like ours!" At James' praise, all formally nervous ticks Peter had been experiencing vanished. The mousy boy beamed back at James.

When it was finally time, the quartet stood and began exiting the Great Hall. As they did, James' mind began focusing on the next few hours and what he'd need to do in order to make the team. However, despite his sharpening focus, James noticed a lone owl out of the corner of his eye. This owl had arrived much later than the normal post owls and landed in front of Snape. Had his mind not been so focused on Quidditch, James may have gone to investigate. Instead, he followed the others out onto the grounds.

* * *

"Alright, everyone! Thanks for coming out today. You are taking the first, very important, step to joining the great and mighty Gryffindor Quidditch team! This year will be our year! With your help we will surely win the Quidditch Cup.

"Now to start I'd like to see how quick you can fly and how well you can dodge incoming bludgers and other players. So, you'll all line up at the far goalpost and race around the pitch. If I call your name then, unfortunately, you haven't made the team. After a few laps, the other players and I will start putting obstacles inn your way. Then, we'll move on from there." Frank Longbottom, the Gryffindor Quidditch captain stood in the middle of the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. Surrounding him were twenty eager Gryffindors clutching brooms. At Frank's whistle, everyone took off. James and Sirius were pretty close to the front of the pack as they all circled the pitch.

After about four laps of the pitch, in which both James and Sirius were able to keep up with the front of the pack, Longbottom called out the names of the four at the back, one of whom had already been lapped twice. Then, Frank blew his whistle, signalling the remaining members of the Gryffindor team. The seeker, a tall and curvy black haired girl named Karen Wilde, the older sister of second year Claire Wilde, grabbed up a beaters bat. The Keeper, a stocky brown haired male named Albert Hewitt, joined her. They, along with Frank and the other remaining chaser Vincent Price, then began flying at and through the new recruits. They also hit bludgers at the people on brooms. James, Sirius, and the others were forced to dodge the oncoming obstacles.

Finally, after twenty minutes of the exercise, Frank called it quits. Everyone landed on the pitch and Frank momentarily conferred with the other Gryffindor Quidditch players. James and Sirius stood, quite comfortably and confidently, amongst the remaining hopefuls. The messy haired boy took the pause to score the area. Sitting in the stands, in their normal spot to observe Quidditch games, were the very eager faces of Remus and Peter, holding the sign Peter had made that morning.

"Alright. We've judged your basic skills and think that everyone standing here is at least decent in terms of their skills. So, now we'll move on. The team is already made up of a seeker, Wilde, a keeper, Hewitt, and two chasers, myself and Price," as Frank mentioned each name, the player waved at the assembled crowd. "So, we're looking for a third chaser and two beaters. Of course, if we have enough qualified applicants, we are willing to open up our reserve ranks, so don't feel discouraged.

"For the rest of the try outs, we'll be focusing on the specific parts so, if you are trying out for beater, please step to the right. And if you want to try out for chaser, step to the left." Slowly, the remaining dozen or so students sorted themselves out. James and Sirius stepped to the left, indicating their desire for the sole chaser position.

"Alright, let's get started," Frank commented, a gleam in his eye. James set his jaw; it was now or never.

* * *

The tryouts were hard. James had worked his butt off and his arms, legs, and abs were so sore that he could barely move. Frank had divided up the hopefuls into teams and had them play pick-up style games. Unfortunately, James and Sirius were split up and forced to compete against each other. Then, Frank had each hopeful play with him and the other chaser Price, to test for compatibility. All of it combined to absolutely exhaust both James and Sirius.

By just before noon on Saturday, October 2, James and Sirius were laying in the stands, Remus and Peter flanking them. The chasers had tried out first, followed by the beaters, who were currently on the pitch. It would only be after everyone had his or her chance that Frank Longbottom would announce who had made the team. So, James and Sirius were waiting.

"But," Peter spoke, his voice quivering and hesitant, "if there's only one chaser position available, and you both tried out for it, doesn't that mean that only one of you will make the team?" Peter looked out at the pitch instead of at his friends, nervous to meet their eyes.

"Technically, yes," James spoke, groaning a little in pain, "but there's the reserve team or one of us could replace Vincent Price."

"Plus, as much as I love Quidditch, making the team isn't really as important to me as James. His heart will definitely put him in over me," Sirius spoke, nonchalantly. The surprising nature of his words caused James, despite his pain, to sit upright.

"You don't want to make the team? But then, why'd you put in all the practice with me?" James stared down at his friend, incredulous. However, before Sirius could respond, Frank blew his whistle, calling everyone's attention to him.

"Alright! We've made our decision. Any reserves will still take some time to sort out, so we'll keep you posted. But, right now, congratulations go out go Michael Sweeny and Jacob Hodgins, our new beaters, and James Potter, our new chaser!" A small cheer went up at the announcement, but people mostly just began leaving the pitch.

"I did it to help you, of course," Sirius responded, clapping James gently on the back.


	8. Chapter 8: Recon

_Information is the seed for an idea, and only grows when it's watered_

 _~Heinz V. Bergen_

* * *

 **Chapter Eight**

 **Recon**

* * *

James walked into the common room and collapsed onto a couch. Peter, Remus, and Sirius, who were seated several feet away, chuckled at their friend. James simply groaned. This was his third practice that week and, coupled with the always-heavy workload, James wasn't getting a lot of sleep. It was only mid-October, but the first Quidditch match of the season was quickly approaching. And, seeing as it was Gryffindor versus Slytherin, there was a lot riding on it. As a result, Frank Longbottom was riding the team members extra hard.

"Laugh it up, but I can no longer feel my legs. So, you'll either have to yell or move," James spoke, not lifting his head from the couch. Peter assumed James no longer had the energy to perform the simple movement. Almost immediately, the mousy boy began gathering his books and school items, fully ready to comply with James. Remus and Sirius joined in a few seconds later and, eventually all four second-years were arranged around the couch, with James still lying sprawled across it.

"You guys had better be amazing when you play Slytherin. You've put in so much practice it had better be worth something," Sirius spoke, poking James with his wand. James quickly shot his friend an annoyed look, but the longhaired boy simply smirked. "Just checking to make sure you're still alive. You know, Frank is making it really easy for me to not be upset about not making the team."

James rolled over, turning his back to Sirius. Peter knew if James had more energy he'd readily rib Sirius back. As it was, James seemed to have closed his eyes when he'd turned away. Soft snoring noises quickly began to emanate from the couch.

"Should we wake him?" Remus asked, concerned. "If he sleeps now he'll have to stay up late to finish Greensleigh's assignment." Remus looked at the other two for their advice, but neither Peter nor Sirius relished having to wake James up.

"I think we let him sleep," Peter piped up. "He'd have to wake up and get into a working mood which could take a while now. He'll probably be more willing after some sleep." The other two nodded in agreement and left the absolutely exhausted boy to catch up on some much needed sleep.

* * *

Unfortunately, Peter's assessment of James' post-nap willingness to work had been overly optimistic and James spend several hours procrastinating before Remus and Peter were finally able to convince him to get started. Then it took the three of them, with Remus and Peter's main job being keeping James on task, until nearly two in the morning to get all needed work done.

As a result, the only well rested one at breakfast the next morning was Sirius. James, Remus, and Peter were all zombies, barely able to function adequately. James' tiredness was manifesting itself as irritation, so Peter was walking around on eggshells. He knew how to deal with irritation; he'd just never thought the skills he'd acquired and honed through interacting with his father would need to be used with his friends.

"Look at him, sitting there all smug," James muttered staring across the Great Hall. Peter and the others turned to see whom James was talking about. Their eyes instantly honed in on the hunched form of Severus Snape sitting at the Slytherin table.

"I think we need to stop with our small attacks on him. Go for something big. Something that'll really make an impact," Sirius spoke, shovelling eggs and sausage into his mouth.

"Yeah and something personal. He's gone personal, so it's only fair to retaliate. We'll have to do some reconnaissance. Gather some information first." James responded. At James' words, something in Peter's mind clicked.

"I may have something," he spoke, apprehensive still about James' foul mood. Instead of anger, Peter's words were met with excitement so he forged on. "I saw him out with his mum in Diagon Alley. She's definitely not the most pleasant woman. She was definitely irritated with him and he looked almost scared when she was talking to him. His home's probably not all the great. Might explain why he's such a terrible person."

"Excellent, Peter," Sirius exclaimed, pounding his fists down onto the table in his excitement. The resulting loud bang made the pudgy boy jump a little. However, he beamed at the compliment. "That's an excellent start! And, if we surveil the Slytherin common room and follow him around a little while we're under the cloak, I'll bet we'll get even more dirt!"

James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter then dissolved into conspiratorial whispers at they plotted and planned how they were going to go about getting their revenge on Snape. Peter found himself sitting a little straighter, buoyed by a newfound confidence imparted by his integral role. He'd been right when he thought that James and Sirius would find his intell beneficial.

* * *

"Okay, position your wand just in front of him. Wait until he'd nearly there and then cast your spell!" James whispered to Peter, carefully directing his friend's wand. At his command, Peter cast a spell, sending a slippery liquid out of his wand and landed on the floor in front of a lone fourth year Slytherin. The second that the spell hit the ground, the Slytherin put his foot into the puddle and lost his balance.

The Slytherin landed on his backside with a satisfying thump and Peter had to contain his absolute desire to whoop with joy. He had, with the aid of James, performed his first prank of the year. However, Peter couldn't exactly celebrate because he, James, and Sirius were currently invisible, crouched together under James' invisibility cloak. Whooping would be counter-productive.

The three boys had set themselves up just outside the Slytherin common room, under James' invisibility cloak. They hoped that maybe they'd be able to pick up some useable gossip about Severus Snape, but mostly they just heard whispers about something or someone called the Dark Lord. Peter was fairly certain that this individual or thing was not in reference to Snape.

However, despite their lack of progress on the Snape front, the three were enjoying their time. It had given them ample targets for their jinxes and hexes.

"Excellent work, Peter! We'll have you in top notch pranking shape in no time. You're really improving your timing and execution," James whispered before turning to Sirius. "You're up next!"

Peter enjoyed his recon sessions with James and/or Sirius more than when he went out with just Remus. The skinny boy preferred to use the time to do work, read textbooks, or write essays. James and Sirius however filled their time with pranks on Slytherins. The latter was much more enjoyable in Peter's opinion.

"Here comes one," Peter, acting as lookout whispered. The Slytherin currently making his way toward the common room, and the three Gryffindors sitting outside of it, was none other than fifth-year Slytherin chaser Tidas Bletchley. Sirius clenched his jaw in determination and levelled his wand on the man. His wand let out a slight bang as it cast its spell, but the sound was quickly drowned out by Bletchley's surprised yelp.

The Slytherin's nose suddenly began to grow, taking up more and more of his face. Bletchley tried to cover the enlarging body part and ran back up the hallway, presumably towards the hospital wing. Peter, now alone with his friends, let out a squeaking laugh at the Slytherin's expense.

* * *

October was quickly coming to an end; Halloween began to loom large in Peter's imagination. He was sure that James and Sirius would plan something to celebrate the day. However, the four couldn't focus on Halloween, because the problem of Severus Snape was occupying too much of their attention.

They were hitting a sort of wall in their attempts to dig up anything salacious and potentially damaging to Snape. The greasy haired Slytherin had managed to expose Sirius' secrets by befriending someone who knew a lot about him. However, a similar person didn't exist for Snape; at least not one that the four Gryffindors had easy access too. After what they'd done to Slytherin's reputation and Quidditch chances the year before, no one in that house was willing to talk to them. Sirius had seemed to have some sort of connection with Moira Scott, but he'd apparently burned that bridge.

Not that getting a Slytherin to talk to them would do them much good. From what they'd observed, Snape was quite the loner in the Slytherin house. He left the common room alone extremely early in the morning and often didn't return until just before curfew. It was obvious that Snape wanted to spend as little time with his fellow Slytherins as possible. Perhaps, Peter mused, the Gryffindors weren't the only ones who had taken to picking on Snape. The only Slytherin who Snape seemed to associate with was Regulus Black and, despite him being Sirius' brother, would definitely not talk to the Gryffindors. Regulus had always made his allegiances perfectly clear.

"Well," said James, resigned. The four friends were lounging around their regular table in Gryffindor's common rom. James had his arms folded comfortably behind his head in a pose that screamed ease. "There is one person who knows Snivellus well. Probably knows him the best out of everyone. And she might be willing to talk to us. With the right amount of persuasion."

Peter wasn't sure whom James was talking about, but evidently Remus was. And the light haired boy did not look all the pleased with James' option. As soon as James had finished his revelation, Remus had gone rigid and begun vigorously shaking his head.

"No. Leave her alone, James. She won't say anything, won't betray her friend like that." Remus pled with James. Peter stared between the two, confused.

"if Evans doesn't want to talk to me, I know she'll let me know, Remus. She's fully capable of turning me down. But I bet she's got a lot of stories about Snivellus that we can use. I've got to at least ask. We will have revenge on that greasy haired git!"


	9. Chapter 9: The Art of Espionage

_When you grow suspicious of a person and begin a system of espionage upon him, your punishment will be that you find your suspicions true._

 _~Elbert Hubbard_

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

 **The Art of Espionage**

* * *

Remus was leery about this. Over the past year and few months, he had grown to like Lily Evans. They hadn't spent a great deal of time together, but the few times they had been in the library or the common room together, Remus had enjoyed her presence. She was almost as focused on schoolwork as Remus, though she possessed a little more natural talent than he did. She was also spunky, passionate, and loyal. She would stand up for people who were important to her, as shown time and again when James and Sirius went after Snape in her presence.

It was in those few facts that the leery feeling Remus was experiencing lay. Firstly, he didn't want James or Sirius bugging Lily because he'd seen how annoying the rosette found the pair. Remus' affection for Lily made him want to ensure she would not be bothered. Plus, Remus was almost 100% certain that talking to Lily would be like trying to get blood from a stone. She was far too loyal, and far too smart, to say anything meaningful about Snape to James.

Yet, James still insisted on going through with it.

He first approached Lily the day after he decided he should. He managed to find the red haired girl momentarily alone in the library and took advantage of the situation. Remus, sitting at a table across the open area of the library, watched as James, trying to appear casual, sauntered up to the rosette. Even though Remus, as well as Sirius and Peter who were also sitting at the table, were too far away to hear what was said, the scrawny, increasingly sickly looking boy could tell what was going on.

As soon as Lily realised that James was nearby her previously relaxed posture stiffened. She crossed her arms, closing herself off, and stared James down. He tried to turn on his charm, smiling down warmly and mussing his already messy hair further. Lily didn't seem to respond; she was still closed off. Undeterred, James sat down at Lily's table, and managed to get in a few words. However, then Lily stood, quickly collected her things, and left James sitting alone at the table.

"So, how'd it go?" Sirius asked cheekily when James returned to the table. The messy haired boy playfully slugged his friend, and sat down with his arms crossed behind his head in an easy and relaxed manner. Obviously, James wasn't negatively affected by Lily's rejection. He was, after all, fairly used to that.

"I'll just have to try again later. Wear her down until she readily answers my questions. How hard can it be?"

* * *

James should have known that by making a statement about the ease of something. It would inevitably become a million times more difficult. Over the next several days, James approached Lily on at least a dozen times to no success. He cornered her in classes, at meal times, in the hallway, in the common room, and back in the library. Every time she rebuffed his attempts and left him, looking stunned.

"Shot down again?" Sirius asked James one day in mid-October as the messy haired boy walked into the common room and flopped down on a nearby chair. It was a cold, sleety day and, minutes before James had been out on the Quidditch pitch practicing. However, the annoyance that James was obviously feeling, his brown furrowed and his teeth clenched, was more than just because of the weather.

"Yes! I don't get it. I'm extremely charming, but I haven't been able to get a word in edgewise. She doesn't even know what I want to talk to her about, but she won't hear me out. I've never had this much trouble!" James complained, his body flung over the sides of the chair in a defeated manner.

"Looks like you've pissed her off one to many times, mate. You might have to apologize or bring her flowers or something. You know, get on her good side. Otherwise she isn't going to tell you a thing," Sirius spoke. Remus, who been busy reading from his Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook, nodded in agreement.

"But she won't let me say anything besides hello. How am I supposed to apologize if she won't let me talk? Plus, I don't think I have anything to apologize for; I've never hurt her or done anything to her."

"No, but she's upset at you because you've been antagonizing her good friend. If someone were bugging Peter, or I, or Sirius, wouldn't you be angry with them?" Remus asked, not looking up from his book. He wasn't disagreeing with James going against Snape. Last year, maybe because Snape hadn't really done anything except show James up in potions. But this year, Snape had gone after Sirius, had more openly antagonized the Black, and Remus felt his friends were more justified in their actions.

However, he also wanted James to realise how his actions could be seem from Lily's point of view. Maybe then, James would leave Lily alone and find another way to get back at Snape. After all, Lily didn't deserve the aggravation of being hounded by James just because she had made a poor choice of friends.

"I guess," James eventually conceded, though slightly begrudgingly, "but I still expected my charm to get me further than it has. Lily truly is a tough egg to crack." A wry smile crossed James' face. Remus couldn't help but think that the smile on James' face meant that he enjoyed the chase, enjoyed that Lily wasn't instantly overcome by his charm. Remus hoped that didn't mean too much aggravation on Lily's part.

* * *

"Uhhghh!" James groaned out at the breakfast table one Friday late in October. He banged his head down on the table in frustration. The banging caused nearby dishes to hop and nearly sent the oatmeal in Remus' bowl down onto his lap. It was nearly that time of the month and, such an occurrence would have ruined his day and he may just have called it quits and holed up in his room for the rest of the weekend. Luckily, his oatmeal just sloshed but didn't spill.

"And how are you on this lovely morning, Jamesy?" Sirius asked sipping his tea with a coquettish smile. In response, James made a rude hand gesture and groaned louder. The Black chuckled and continued sipping his tea. Eventually, James raised his head again.

"I think I'm willing to finally concede the fact that Lily will never tell me anything about Severus. I tried apologising, and I even cut some flowers from the grounds to give to her and everything, but she still wouldn't hear me out. we'll just have to try and find things out some other way. Maybe you could convince Regulus to help us? Play the big brother card or something?" James turned to Sirius hopefully.

"I doubt it. Regulus and I haven't been close for years. And he seems pretty buddy-buddy with Snape. Plus, he's already, you know, betrayed the brotherly bond once by talking about some of my closely held childhood secrets. I don't know if it'll work," Sirius responded, his expression now apologetic and no longer cocky.

"There's got to be something we can do. Someone we can talk to, or-" James suddenly stopped talking, his eyes growing wide. The other three eating breakfast together turned to look in the same direction. Slowly, making her way down the Gryffindor table, in their exact direction, was none other than Lily Evans. She had a small box clasped in her hands and, for once, looked a little uneasy.

Well, well, well, Evans. I guess you just couldn't stay away," James spoke. His entire demeanour had changed from defeated to cocky and slightly peacock-ish. He was obviously showing off for Lily. In response, the rosette pulled a face at James and turned to look at Remus.

"I'd noticed you haven't been looking all that well lately and I brought you something that might help. It's a muggle remedy my mum gives me whenever I'm sick. It tastes fairly disgusting, but it always makes me feel better," Lily spoke softly, looking slightly sorrowfully at Remus. She then held out the box for Remus to take.

Remus looked awkwardly up at Lily. Firstly, she'd noticed that Remus was sickly, which could mean some fairly terrible things for Remus if the rosette's observational and deductive skills lead her to figuring things out. Secondly, besides James, Sirius, and Peter, no peer had ever given him a gift. It was a little shocking that someone who was a little more than an acquaintance was gifting him something. And finally, Lily was giving Remus this gift in front of James. It was like a big screw you to the boy who was trying so hard to get her attention.

"Ah, thank you, Lily. I have been feeling a bit off. I'll definitely try this. My mother is a muggle so she uses a fair amount of muggle remedies at home," Remus finally spoke, taking the small box from the girl and smiling up at her.

Lily returned the smile. "No problem, and feel better. Lots of soup and tea!" Lily then turned on her heel and headed back to her awaiting friends. Remus slowly turned his head back to look at his friends, a sheepish expression on his face. Surprisingly, James didn't look jealous or angry, but had a knowing, plotting look on his face. Remus gulped, positive that it would not mean anything good for him.

"You and Lily Evans seem quite chummy, Remus," James spoke, leaning in closer to Remus. The sickly boy nodded, but hemmed and hawed to try and play down their relationship. James didn't seem interested in what Remus had to say. Instead, a glint formed in his eye. "She'd probably talk to you, easily. You know, share some personal things with you about herself or, you know, someone else."

Remus was right. James' look hadn't been good for him. The messy haired boy wanted Remus to talk to Lily, to mine her for information about Snape. Not good at all.

* * *

While he was initially hesitant, and against James' plan, Remus eventually came around. James was incredibly persuasive and knew how to play on Remus' rule-breaking streak. While most of the staff saw Remus as the good one of his friends –he was the only one of the four that hadn't received a detention- he was always an integral part of the pranks. He got a thrill out of skirting the rules, and James was able to use that thrill, and the grand prank they would play on Snape, to help change Remus' mind.

Plus, if Remus took over talking to Lily, it would save her the aggravation of having to deal with James' obnoxious behaviour.

However, he was still a little reluctant when he approached Lily in the library that afternoon. By the appearance of the table she was sitting at, despite the fact that she was currently alone, she wasn't, in actuality, alone. Her friends must have been somewhere in the stacks, looking up books and information. Remus wasn't sure how much time he would be allotted, but since Lily was so rarely without her friends, he wasn't sure when he'd get another chance.

"Hey, Lily. What are you working on?" Remus asked as he approached the red haired girl. He tried to act as casual as possibly and not tip Lily off to his true intention. For her part, Lily seemed to have been extremely focused on her work as it took her several seconds to raise her head and focus on Remus.

"Hello, Remus. How are you?" Lily smiled warmly at him. Nothing about her expression led him to believe that Lily was intentionally avoiding his question. Instead, he guessed she'd been so focused on her work that she simply hadn't heard him.

"I'm good. Taking a break from James, and Sirius, and Peter. I was hoping to get out Potions essay done, but they have, ah, other priorities," Remus spoke sheepishly. Lily's warm smile dropped momentarily at the mention of James, but quickly returned.

"Well, you're welcome to work here. The girls and I are also working on that paper, so we could all help each other. Marley and Vicky are looking for helpful books, but their research skills are a little lacking, so they may be gone for a while." Remus gladly accepted Lily's offer and tried not to look too relieved at the fact that they would be left alone for a few more minutes.

"So, how are you finding work this year? James and Sirius have been complaining an awful lot about the amount we've gotten so far." Remus had decided to ease in to talking about Snape, to try and steer the conversation as naturally as possible to her Slytherin friend. It was with this idea in mind that Remus began by talking about work.

"It's been a fairly heavy load, but I've been able to cope with it. Perhaps, if James, Sirius, and Peter spent more time focused on their schoolwork and less time pulling pranks and … antagonizing others, they wouldn't feel so overwhelmed." Lily spat the words 'antagonizing others' with such venom that Remus felt like he'd been slapped. Once he got over that feeling, he realised that this was his moment, his in.

"You're very protective of Severus. That loyalty is quite noble." Remus didn't look up from his books in an attempt to appear disinterested in what he was talking about. Apparently, it had worked because Lily started to open up.

"Yeah, well, Severus hasn't exactly had it easy. He doesn't have a lot of people to cheer him on and fight for him. So, I take the responsibility of being his friend extremely seriously. We've both helped each other through a lot.

"He's the one who introduced me to magic, who explained what it was I could do and why. He helped me navigated everything at the start of this crazy journey; I really relied on him. And, in turn he relied on me.

"His family is really not great. Lot's of problems and yelling and they don't do a good job of minding him a lot of the time. So I take over for them; I'm the one who makes sure he has clean and mended clothes and knows that people care for him. Which is why I can't stand it that James and Sirius pick on him for no reason at all!

"He's been so kind to me in spite of the terribleness of his family. His muggle, magic-hating father, and his mother who could care less about him really. So, if you could tell James and Sirius to lay off him, I'd greatly appreciate it." Lily then turned back to her work, perhaps a little upset with herself that she'd shared personal details about her friend. She hadn't said much in the way of specifics, but Remus could read between the lines and put two and two together.

He thought about pressing her for more details to be sure about his assumptions, but the look of distress on Lily's face combined with the reappearance of Marlene and Victoria stopped him. The two girls had obviously been successful in their information hunt; their arms were burdened with copious large reference materials. Relieved at the distraction, Lily jumped on her friends and instantly began burying herself in work.

But, as the four began relatively quietly working, the red haired girl caught Remus' eye and shot him a pleading look. It was obvious that she was asking him to keep what she'd said between the two of them. Remus now found himself between a proverbially rock and a hard place.


	10. Chapter 10: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

_Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me._

 _~Idiom_

* * *

 **Chapter Ten**

 **Chitty Chitty Bang Bang**

* * *

James sat at the breakfast table on the morning of October 30. He appeared anxious and on edge and kept glancing at the space through which the owls normally arrived with the post. Anyone with half a brain could guess that he was eagerly awaiting that day's owl post. Something, though what it was wasn't clear, was going to be arriving that day.

It had been a little over a week since he'd asked Remus to talk to Lily, since he'd essentially relinquished control over the Snape investigation. But the time of year, the rapid approach of Halloween had divided, then strongly pulled his attention. The closer it got to Halloween, the less focused on trying to gather useable facts and information about Snape James became.

Shortly after their first, extremely successful, Halloween prank, the four Gryffindor boys had decided to make it a tradition of sorts. Every year, at the Hogwarts Halloween feast they would perform some act of trickery. After all, James reasoned, it was in the spirit of the holiday. Muggle children did go door-to-door on All Hallows Eve declaring 'Trick or Treat'.

So, as October 31 grew nearer, James and Sirius turned their attention, and the attentions of Remus and Peter, to what their Halloween prank would be, and how they would pull it off. They spent several evenings, working late into the night, laying out ideas and planning out the intricacies. They all agreed that this year they should do something different than last year, so they chose to avoid anything with food.

James was quite excited about the plan they'd come up with. If they managed to pull it off, which James was positive they would, this prank promised to be quite fantastical. All that was holding them up was the package that should be arriving in that morning's owl post. They'd ordered the package from a mail in magazine several days prior and, every morning since then James had been waiting on pins and needles. The package had to come in today if they were going to have time to set everything up and pull off their epic Halloween prank.

"I think I see something," Remus finally spoke, squinting up at the owl post opening. Sure enough, almost as soon as the words were out of the skinny boy's mouth, a cloud of birds emerged into the Great Hall. The flapping wings and occasional squawking of the owls made it difficult to talk so a sort of hush fell over the Great Hall. Nearly all heads turned to the owls, each student wondering if there was something meant for him or her amongst the multitude of owls.

James, just like many others, stared up hopefully and expectantly. He didn't know what the mail-order company's owl would look like, so he didn't know which bird to focus on. Instead, he sat up straighter whenever a bird flew near to the quartet and subsequently slunk back down whenever the same bird flew past. If the package didn't come today, then all their planning would have been for naught. Their ingenious prank would be dead before they even managed to get it off the ground.

"Come on. Come on. Come on," James muttered under his breath as the birds thinned out. he thought he was muttering quietly enough that no one could hear him, but he was apparently wrong.

"Well, if the package doesn't arrive today," Peter squeaked, clearly nervous by where this train of thought was leading. However, he pushed on. "There still has to be something we can do to make it happen. And, maybe we can still afford to wait one more day." Peter was trying to sound optimistic and up beat.

"Waiting one more day would make everything tight. It wouldn't give us much time," James responded, not looking at Peter but instead still up at the ceiling and the remaining owls.

"Yes, but tight is better than –ack!" Peter exclaimed. The surprising sound drew James' attention. Peter had, only moments, before, been eating porridge and talking with the others. Then, in the middle of his sentence, something had dropped, presumably from one of the owls, right into his bowl. Porridge had then spattered all over the mousy boy. James' eyes grew wide at the sight.

"Fantastic!" he cheered, earning a hurtful look from Peter who assumed James' gleeful mood was at his expense. James quickly reached across the table and retrieved the package from the bowl. "We're rolling now boys." The messy haired boy turned the package around so that the mailing label was visible to Remus and Peter who were sitting across the table from James and Sirius.

Written on the parchment wrapping paper, in clear and elegant script, were James' name and the address of Hogwarts and, where the return address was located was written the name of the mail-in company.

The package they had been waiting for had finally arrived. The school wouldn't know what hit them during the annual Halloween feast.

* * *

Finally, the 31st of October arrived. All of the students at Hogwarts gathered in the Great Hall on the evening of Halloween. Excited and happy chatter filled the space as students from all four houses readied themselves for one of Hogwarts best feasts. On Halloween, the staff of house elves at Hogwarts out did themselves with roasts, and stews, and fish, and other great English dishes. Then, they turned around and did it all again with the dessert course.

James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter sat at their normal spots along the Gryffindor table. They hadn't been assigned them, or anything, they'd just started sitting there in first year and habit and human nature just sort of took over.

On that evening, the four Gryffindor were trying their hardest to not appear suspicious. Lots of students were already shooting them furtive glances and suspicious looks; they were just waiting to see what the pranksters had in store for the Halloween feast. And, despite trying his best to hide it, James was absolutely ecstatic about all of the attention.

"Watching all of them fret over what will happen and when is almost better than what their reactions will be post-prank," James gleefully cheered, looking around at all of the hesitant faces that populated the Great Hall. He nearly squealed with joy when the dinner feast finally arrived and, instead of the usual enthusiastic digging in that usually followed, people turned to look at the four Gryffindors. They were all, James suspected, waiting to see what he and his friends would do before piling food onto their plates.

Sirius, seemingly unfazed by the attention, quickly began taking large portions of roast, and potatoes, and vegetables, and bread. He piled the food several inches thick on his plate before he eagerly dug in. Sirius' actions broke some sort of spell as, the minute after he took his first bite, everyone else began eating. What had, only seconds before been an essentially quiet hall burst to life with a cacophony of cutlery clings, plate scrapes, glass tinkles, and easy-going chatter.

"So," Peter asked, leaning in close so that no one could hear him. Before he had spoken, he'd taken a large bite of potatoes and hadn't quite swallowed it all. "When is it going to happen? We could wait until dessert like last year, but that seems a little predictable. People are probably expecting it."

James smirked mischievously at his friend, then shot knowing looks at Remus and Sirius. The three of them had discussed their execution plan the night before, as Peter slept on a stack of books he'd been using to write a paper for astronomy. They thought about waking Peter to have him be a part of their conversation, but James decided it would be more enjoyable to watch Peter's surprised reaction, along with the surprised reactions of everyone else in the Great Hall.

"You'll just have to wait and see, Peter," James responded, punctuating his sly comment with a large bite of roast. Peter seemed to accept James' vague statement, simply shrugging and returning to his meal.

A loud clatter filled the Great Hall, emanating from the joyful boisterous crowd. They were obviously enjoying their meals and the celebration of All Hallows Eve. Like the years previous, the Hall was decorated with floating jack-o-lanterns and candles. All the tables had centerpieces of traditional fall fair, like gourds and leaves.

Suddenly, one of the large pumpkins over the Slytherin table exploded, a spray of fireworks shooting out of the inside of it. The Slytherins beneath it shrieked and scrambled out of the way. All eyes turned immediately towards the commotion, some even snickering at the Slytherins' expense.

Then, a jack-o-lantern exploded over the Hufflepuff table with fireworks shooting out of it. And, like the flip of a switch, one-by-one all of the jack-o-lanterns in the Great Hall exploded in an epic firework show. Everyone scrambled beneath tables to avoid being bit by a stray firework and set ablaze. Once the initial terror and shock wore off though, most of the students cheered on the explosive display and watched it in awe, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter included.

They were most definitely facing detention for their exploits, but, as colourful explosions went off over their heads, James felt it was all worth it.


	11. Chapter 11: Quidditch

_I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and I sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion._

 _~Mia Hamm_

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven**

 **Quidditch**

* * *

"Well, gentlemen. I was really hoping to avoid this. I was hoping that a summer off and several months would have matured you some. And yet, here we are." Professor McGonagall spoke, looking down at the boys through her half moon glasses. "Your Halloween escapades left the Great Hall in quite the shambles. Now, normally, the hardworking house elves are left to clear up after meals and feasts but, seeing as you four are responsible for the disaster behind me, it just didn't fair to make the innocent house elves clean up after you.

"So, this," Professor McGonagall pushed open the doors of the Great Hall, revealing four long tables and a fifth head table absolutely covered in bits of pumpkin. In fact, there was barely a spare surface that wasn't covered in bits of pumpkin. In fact there was barely a spare surface that wasn't covered in pumpkin. James, and he strongly suspected the others as well, was trying extremely hard to hide his glee.

"This is your responsibility boys. Every single inch of the Great Hall must be pumpkin free by breakfast tomorrow morning or you'll be spending every evening of the next week in my office un-transforming objects. And, because you can't seem to remember that pranking your fellow students is strictly forbidden, you will be doing it with these, and only these."

McGonagall motioned to an area just inside the door. From their position, the four boys couldn't quite see what it was she was talking about, but James was almost certain he wouldn't like what he saw. Slightly apprehensively, the four took a step forward into the Great Hall. They turned to see what McGonagall had pointed at and, when they saw the mops, brooms, sponges, and buckets, their hearts' dropped.

"No magic. I'll be back in a few hours to see how you are doing," Professor McGonagall stated with finality, and then strode out of the Hall. As her robes billowed up the nearby staircase, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all turned to each other.

"Well, this is going to suck," Sirius stated, though his tone was more bored than anything. A little reluctantly, the four boys grabbed a tool, a mop, or a broom, or a sponge, and set to work. James wasn't sure how they were going to reach the bits of pumpkin that were spattered high on the walls, and especially the bits that were sticking to the ceiling several feet above their heads. Hopefully, when McGonagall checked back in to see how they were progressing, she'd let them use magic to reach those particularly difficult places.

"Next year," Remus spoke as he sponged off the Hufflepuff table, "I say we pick a prank with less mess."

* * *

"Well, that was probably the best practice we've had yet. I think we're finally starting to work cohesively and like a well-oiled machine. Keep this up and we'll definitely wipe the floor with the Slytherins. By this time next week, no one will remember the –ah– unfortunateness of last year. Until then, get lots of rest, eat and drink often, and keep your minds focused on our Quidditch plays and strategies. We can win this!" Frank Longbottom spoke to the fathered Gryffindor team. His tone was meant to inspire the players to light their desires to win. However, all the speech managed to do to James was cause him a great deal of stress.

Despite James' years of practice, the countless games he worked and listened to, the involved conversations over strategy he had with his dad, James did not feel ready. He'd only been on the team for a month. He didn't have enough practice with his team under his belt, nor enough practice on the school pitch with the school equipment. He was underprepared to be playing in the game. Especially against Slytherin.

James and his friends had humiliated the Slytherins last year, had led to their disqualification from the Quidditch cup competition. They would be out for blood. They would want revenge, against James especially, but also against Gryffindor. After all, it had been on the lion house that the slimy snakes had tried to pin the illegal and immoral broom tamperings the year before. On top of that, they Slytherins had been extremely close to winning the cup before their disqualification. They would want to score as many points and achieve as many victories as possible to show the students and staff that they could win without dirty tactics.

It all combined to be an extremely heavy weight on James' shoulders, one mostly self-imposed, but heavy nonetheless.

He managed to hold himself together extremely well as he and the other members of the Gryffindor team slowly made their way back to the common room. It wasn't until James was safely in his room, away from judging observers and alone with just his friends, that James finally felt able to drop the weight.

He collapsed, face first, onto his bed and let out a long, agonized groan. Remus, who was across the room on his bed, nose buried in a ratty old book, slowly lowered it. Peter, who had been busily scratching away at a piece of parchment (most likely his homework) looked up at James, worried about his friends. James groaned into his pillow for a second time before rolling over and staring up at the ceiling.

"You alright, mate?" Sirius asked from his perch in front of the window where he was focused on cleaning and mending his broom. Sirius had made the reserve team and was supposed to be prepared to play, though the chances of that happening were slim. The reserve team was there in case a member of the actual tam got hurt, or sick, or couldn't play for whatever reason, but seeing as that didn't happen very often, they most likely wouldn't see much time on the pitch. Because of this, they normally attended half of the practices as the others on the team. That was why Sirius was up in his room and not down on the pitch with James.

"I have to play Quidditch against Slytherin tomorrow and I'm going to absolutely blow it, I'm sure." James responded, still staring up at the ceiling.

"Wha- No! You're going to be fantastic!" Peter sputtered, scrambling off his bed. In his haste, Peter got his foot tangled in his sheets and he tripped and landed on his face just beside his bed.

"Peter's right," Remus chimed in, "you've been practicing like crazy. Just get some sleep and I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning." Remus got off his bed, but went to help Peter instead of James. James and Sirius didn't say anything and, eventually, James rolled over and fell asleep.

* * *

When James woke up the next morning, the morning of the first Quidditch match of the year, he was disappointed to find out that Remus, despite his calm and assured tone, was wrong. James, if it was possible, felt worse. He was more stressed and nervous; he felt sick to his stomach and like there were a million butterflies flapping around inside him. It took all of his available effort, and Sirius standing silently over him for several seconds, for James to get out of his bed that morning.

"Look at it this way," Sirius spoke as the pair slowly made their way down to breakfast, "by the time we graduate, by the end of seventh-year, no one will remember the outcome of your first Quidditch game. We'll have done so many more memorable and noteworthy things that today's match will be an insignificant blip." Sirius looked encouragingly at his friend, hoping his little pep talk would help perk James up. James just continued to face forward and walk down the hall, not really acknowledging Sirius' words or even his presence.

"If I completely implode, everyone will remember that. And I don't have enough practice so I'm definitely going to implode. In front of the whole school and in a game against Slytherin. That is all anyone is going to remember." James spoke, his tone of voice calm despite the fact that his words were anything but. He honestly wasn't sure where all this self-doubt was coming from; it wasn't a normal state for James to be in. normally, he was cocky, confident, and so self-assured that he was positive it annoyed others. Yet, something about this match was playing strange tricks with his mind.

"James!" Sirius exclaimed, retching James from his thoughts by grabbing him by the shoulders and forcing the messy haired boy to look him in the eye. "You're being ridiculous! If you were a bad Quidditch player then you wouldn't have made the team. If you were sucking in practice, then Frank surely would have sacked you by now. He obviously has no concerns; he thinks you are going to do a fantastic job and you shouldn't think any different. Stop stressing, and worrying, and just think about the fact that you get to play Quidditch today! Now buck up, and let's get some food in you!"

Sirius then continued to stare James down, letting his message and words sink in to his friend's thick skull. The pair stood in the hallway, staring at each other for several seconds before something in James finally clicked. He felt all of his previously tense muscles relax and a huge smile cross his face.

"I get to play Quidditch today!" James exclaimed, joy and excitement filling his voice for the first time in a twenty-four hour period. He then turned and, with a spring in his step, sauntered off down the hallway in the direction of the Great Hall and the warm, delicious breakfast that waiting him there.

* * *

James felt alive, more alive than he ever had before. The wind rushed through his hair and whistled past his ears. It was absolutely exhilarating. He expertly weaved between the hulking Slytherin chasers and beaters, and made a beeline for the three large hoops at the other end of the field. Suddenly, a Slytherin figure popped up in front of him without giving James a chance to get around him. As if on instinct, James flung the Quaffle to his right and into the awaiting hands of Frank Longbottom, who then took off down the field.

With his path still blocked, James stopped short and watched Frank's progress across the pitch. The older boy flew through the air like a firecracker; not a single Slytherin was able to keep pace. Only a few feet from the goal, Frank wound up and let the Quaffle fly, right over the head of the Slytherin keeper.

"Longbottom scores! Gryffindor with another ten, making their lead 120 – 30. And the assist goes to the eager young star, James Potter. The second-year sure has been making a name for himself this game. He was an excellent get for the Gryffindor team who are trying, and if I do say so myself, succeeding, to rebuild after the, ah, problems of last year." James allowed the excited praise of the announcer, a sixth year Hufflepuff named Karlson, to wash over him for a few seconds before he blocked it all out again and focused back on the game.

Slytherin had the Quaffle and were slowly making their way across the pitch, greatly hampered by the efforts at the Gryffindor beaters. James and the other Gryffindor chasers quickly surrounded the Slytherins and joined in on the harassment. A well-timed bludger hit the Slytherin in possession of the Quaffle to drop it after being hit heard in the chest. The third Gryffindor chaser, Price, shot after the Quaffle and picked it up a few yards from the grass.

With the Gryffindors back in possession, James shot across the pitch to his spot according to the playbook. He waited and watched as Price and Longbottom essentially played keep-away with the three Slytherin chasers. Then, when they'd drawn close to James, they passed him the Quaffle. James took off like a flash, leaving the unsuspecting Slytherins in his dust.

"And now Potter's got the Quaffle and he's off across the pitch! There isn't a Slytherin anywhere close! He's lined up with the goal, just him and the Slytherin keeper, McNair. Potter shoots and, it's good! 130 – 30 for Gryffindor! Someone put Slytherin out of the misery. First being unmasked last year as the Quidditch broom tamperers and now being absolutely trounced by Gryffindor. How much more can they take?" Karlson's voice reverberated through James' skull. That was his fifth goal of the game and it still felt as exhilarating as his first.

As James flew a victory lap, he searched the crowd for his friends' faces, most certainly beaming at his success. He found the three of them exactly where he expected, and they were indeed beaming and crazily cheering on his success.

In that moment, he had absolutely no idea whey he'd been so worried about the game earlier. This was absolutely fantastic.

* * *

Gryffindor won, after Karen Wilde, the Gryffindor seeker, expertly caught the snitch. The final score was 300 – 50. And, after their victory, Gryffindor celebrated. They'd once again bested Slytherin, and in dazzling fashion. It definitely deserved a wild, raucous party, and that's exactly what Gryffindor did. And James was almost a guest of honour of sorts.

In his reckoning, things couldn't get any better, and then they did.

As James lounged on the couch with Sirius, Remus, and Peter, basking in his victory and glory, Lily Evans approached him, albeit apprehensively. She stopped a fair distance from him and stood around awkwardly for several seconds, before lifting her head. She focused in on Remus first, and something seemed to pass between them. Then, Lily turned and looked at James.

"Congratulations, James! I thought you'd be absolutely terrible, and Marley here bet me that you'd be amazing. Unfortunately, I lost and now have to come congratulate you. So…" Having said her piece she turned on her heel and almost fled from his spot but James didn't care.

Lily Evans had congratulated him.

He'd won his first ever Quidditch match.

He was on cloud nine.


	12. Chapter 12: Suspicions

_There is no rule more invariable than that we are paid for our suspicions by finding what we suspect_

 _~Henry David Thoreau_

 **Chapter Twelve**

 **Suspicion**

"If I read one more word about the healing properties of a mandrake I think my head is going to explode!" Sirius exclaimed, breaking the previously peaceful silence of the Hogwarts library. His outburst earned him several dirty looks from the others sitting at tables near him, but Sirius either didn't care or register the. Instead, he slammed his head down on the large pile of books in front of him.

"Maybe we should take a break," Remus spoke, pulling his head from his own books. From his position on his books, Sirius let out a sigh of relief. James rocked back in his chair and Peter, copying James, nearly fell out of his. The four Gryffindors had spent nearly every free moment of their days since the middle of November in the library. It seemed like all the professors had conspired to drown the second years in an avalanche of homework before holiday break.

"This is just torture! We have so much work that it can't fit in our brains and we don't have time for any fun things that would help us clear them. Christmas break cannot come soon enough!" Sirius complained, his face still resting on his pile of books.

"Only a few more weeks. Plus it can't get much worse than this and we'll definitely have time to pull a prank before we go home for the holidays. In fact, Remus, our hard driving task-master has declared a break and I say we plan!" James said, leaning forward on his chair and closer to his friends as he did so.

For the first time in several minutes, Sirius lifted his head and surveyed his friends. A wicked grin crossed his face at the prospect of once again plotting mayhem and destruction. It had been so long since his brain had even had a spare moment to contemplate pranking or any of the other destructive arts. It felt extremely good to be back in the saddle.

"Alright, Jamie. What do you have in mind?" Sirius asked, rubbing his hands together in evil plotting glee. The boys then quickly fell into their old plotting ways, their ever-growing piles of homework completely forgotten.

* * *

And so, Sirius, Remus, James and Peter spent the rest of November in the library. They would work and study for hours, under the direction of the always-hard working Remus. The lanky boy would keep them at work, noses in the books, and quills scratching across parchment until someone, usually Sirius but also Peter or James, stated they needed a break. Sirius would do so in his typical dramatic fashion, banging his head down on books or leaning back in his chair with a hand over his forehead. He found these methods the best to get Remus to call it quits. And, once he did, the four would quickly get to work on a large-scale prank they wished to perform just before the break.

Normally, the four Gryffindors spent a significant portion of the day together. They slept in the same room, ate all of their meals together in the Great Hall, attended all the same classes, along with the second-year Gryffindor girls, and spent most of their free time in each other's presence. But they didn't spend every moment of every day together. James had Quidditch practice; Remus spent more time on schoolwork; Sirius and James had more detentions than the other two. November, and their increased workload, changed this.

Gryffindor wouldn't play another Quidditch match until February, so Frank had graciously decided to give the team the weeks leading up to the holiday off. Sirius suspected that it was also because Frank was just as busy with schoolwork as the second years. Sirius had spotted the sixth-year in the library, sitting at a back table with a pretty fourth-year named Alice, nearly every time the four second-year Gryffindors were there.

So, the four best friends spent every waking, and non-waking, minute together. They increased closeness, combined with the fact that, when working, Sirius' attention span was gnat-like, provided the excellent opportunity for observations. Sirius began with his friends, planning to eventually people-watch the other visitors to the library, but he never got that far. He started with Remus, who somehow always managed to be sitting across from him, and didn't make it any further. What Sirius saw in Remus in those long hours in the library, was enough to hold his attention.

Remus had always appeared sickly, weak. He seemed to have a naturally clammy pallor, with watery eyes and extremely pale skin. He was skinny, lanky, and yet, his skin seemed pulled tight. So tight, in fact, that his skin seemed translucent and the veins and blood vessels beneath stood out. He also always had bags under his eyes. Even on days when he went to sleep before Sirius and got up after him he had bags under his eyes.

But, as Sirius spent the month silently observing his friend as a way to avoid work, he noticed some striking changes.

At the start of the month, and the start of their self-imposed incarceration in the library, Remus had seemed healthy. He still appeared his normal, sickly self, but with a slight hint of a glow. The lanky boy had energy and drive and eagerly got to work each afternoon. When, Sirius dramatically complained, or James, or Peter, that they'd reached their maximum working capacity, Remus would protest and try and bargain for a few more minutes of working.

However, as November passed, as days and weeks finished, it seemed like the life itself was being drained from the sandy haired boy. First, the glow behind his skin disappeared and the transparent, clammy appearance of it only became more and more pronounced. Any light that had previously shimmered in his eyes dimmed until Sirius found himself looking at dull pools of brown. Along with that, the ever-present bags under his now dull eyes, became darker and, if possible, larger. They almost looked as if he'd been punched in his nose. And, as the days passed, along with the life in his eyes and his body draining away, so did his energy. He no longer got right to work and, almost as soon as it was suggested, agreed to a break.

At breakfast one morning in late November, while Remus' nose was buried in the latest addition of the Daily Prophet, the headline about some magical disturbances in a small muggle village, Sirius turned to James and whispered, "Have you noticed anything strange about Remus lately?"

James, who had been stuffing his face with a sausage only moments before, stopped at Sirius' words. The messy haired boy lowered his fork, a half-eaten sausage still skewered on it, and turned to look first at Remus and then at Sirius.

"No," James responded carefully, and in a whisper like Sirius, "why do you say that? Is something going on?" James' tone quickly became excited. The dark haired boy loved a good mystery and the chance to be a part of something secretive.

"No. Nothing's going on. I just think he seems sicker than normal," Sirius responded, trying to act nonchalantly to assuage James' building excitement. Upon hearing Sirius' words, James deflated and returned to shovelling in his breakfast.

"Probably just run down like the rest of us," James spoke, his mouth filled with sausage. "He has been working really hard. All work and no play can kill you." Sirius nodded at his friend's words, not truly believing their explanation for what he had observed.

* * *

After his brief conversation with James, Sirius kept his suspicions to himself. He agreed with James that Remus was probably just rundown from overworking. Sirius himself was starting to feel absolutely exhausted and like each day he was dragging more and more. It would make sense that the boy who already appeared sick would look so much worse after a month filled with, what felt like, nothing but school and schoolwork.

At least, that was what Sirius thought until November 21. The date was burned into his mind because of the strangeness of the day.

Starting with breakfast, Remus seemed off, different. He almost seemed to be vibrating he was wound so tight. The smallest sound made the sandy haired boy jump and his attention seemed to flit from stimulus to stimulus. The newspaper that Remus read every day lay forgotten next to his empty plate.

Then, throughout their classes that day, Remus seemed distracted. He normally took copious notes and volunteered answers to professors' questions as well as posing some of his own. On November 21 however, Remus did none of these things and instead sat in his seat like a lump on a log.

But, the thing that was by far the strangest happened when classes were over for the day. It was that thing that really set Sirius' suspicions to a whole new level.

"So, I'm assuming the plan is library until dinner, then common room? Try and get as much work done as we can so we might have a break over Christmas?" Sirius asked as they filed out of their class. He hitched his bag over his shoulder and accidently on purpose wacked Snape with it as the greasy haired boy slunk past the quartet.

"I'll stop by the kitchen and get snacks," James chimed in, making to move down the hall. Peter nodded his agreement and then the three of them turned to Remus. They thought they didn't really need his agreement; Remus was the one that was most on board with working all evening. They still turned to look at him in case he had a different idea of going about their work.

Remus looked absolutely terrible, like he would drop dead any second. His eyes were surrounded by purple making it look like he was punched. His eyes looked lifeless and he looked like he was about to pop out of his skin.

"I think I'm going to work on my own tonight. No offense, but I just want to plough through it all and I know you need your breaks." Without waiting for a response, he walked off down the hallway, leaving the other three slightly stunned.

"That was strange," James finally commented. Sirius wholeheartedly agreed and had started to think there was more than just being worn out that was causing Remus' increasingly sickly appearance. If he were worn out, surely he'd want to work with his friends because they offered respite from straight working. Barring that, Sirius though that Remus would want to take the afternoon and evening off and catch up on his sleep. Working harder and more intensely was definitely not the choice that Sirius would have made.

However, Sirius wasn't given much time to think about his friend's strange behaviour. Despite not having Remus to keep them on track, the sheer amount of work that they needed to get done kept them working straight until dinner. When the clock struck6:00, the beginning of the dinner hour, the three Gryffindors readily leapt up and began packing up.

"And I'm going to do nothing but listen to Quidditch and plan some jaw-dropping pranks," James was saying as they walked in to dinner. Sirius wasn't sure why, but he'd assumed that Remus would be there eating dinner. After all, everyone needed to eat. Disappointment quickly mixed with suspicion when Sirius saw that the quartet's usual spot was completely empty. No Remus.

"With how sick he's looking, Remus really shouldn't be skipping meals," Sirius commented, tucking in to the feast before him. It was getting harder and harder to keep his suspicions to himself. James and Peter made noises of agreement, but were too busy eating to do much more. Sirius, however, wasn't going to let it go.

Especially not when Remus wasn't in the common room when the other's got there after dinner. He hadn't been in the library when they were there earlier; was he switching locations to avoid them? Sirius settled into work with those thoughts rattling around in his head, finding it very difficult to concentrate on his work.

Then, to compound the strangeness even more, Remus didn't return to the second-year's dorm that night. As Sirius drifted off to sleep, he resolved to confront Remus about it. Friends shouldn't have secrets from each other.

* * *

Remus was sitting in his usual spot at breakfast the next morning, that day's Daily Prophet open in front of him. Sirius felt his anger flair. The sandy haired boy hadn't returned to the dorm all night and had the nerve to just be sitting and eating breakfast like nothing had happened. Sirius let his anger carry him through the Great Hall and right to the oblivious Remus.

"And where have you been?" Sirius asked, sounding very much like a mother who had woken up to find her sons missing. Remus lowered his newspaper and the change in his appearance startled Sirius so much he nearly took a step back. Whereas yesterday Remus had looked only moments from death, as he sat there eating breakfast he looked the picture of health.

"Sorry about that," Remus spoke sheepishly as James and Peter joined them. "I was working away on my own and then I just got really sick. I felt really faint so I went to the hospital wing. Apparently I was overworked, dehydrated, and I need of a good meal and a good night sleep. I tried to leave and sleep in my bed in the dorm, but Madame Pomfrey wasn't having any of it. She insisted I spend the night in the hospital wing. And I must say I am the better for it." Remus punctuated his explanation with a bite of breakfast.

James and Peter seemed to buy the explanation, and Sirius acted like he did. However, there was still something nagging in the back of the longhaired boy's mind and he wasn't ready to let it go. Not just yet, at least.


	13. Chapter 13: Bah-Humbug

_A merry Christmas to everybody! And a happy New Year to all the world!_

 _~Charles Dickens_

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen**

 **Bah-Humbug**

* * *

Sirius kept a close eye on Remus for the rest of the term, but the sandy haired boy seemed back to his normal self. He didn't have any more strange bouts of sudden illness followed by an extremely quick recovery. He just seemed the same as he always was. That, however, did nothing to assuage the noble boy's suspicions. Sirius vowed he would not let this strange behaviour and obvious secret keeping of his friend go. He would stick to it until Remus finally provided him with answers, whether the lanky boy was aware of it or not.

However, the end of term put a temporary halt to Sirius' covert surveillance. All four boys were heading home for Christmas break and, as much as Sirius would rather spend the holiday with Remus for a variety of reasons, his parents would throw an absolute fit if he didn't come home. Things were already tense with the young Black and his bigoted parents; the last thing he needed to give Orion and Walburga was a clear excuse to disown him. At thirteen years of age, being on his own, even if it meant never having to see his parents or Number 12 Grimmauld Place again, was not something he thought he was prepared for. So, begrudgingly, Sirius boarded the Hogwarts Express bound for the dark, dreary, terrible house in the middle of London.

"What about you, Peter? What will you be doing over break?" James asked. The four second-years sat in what was now their regular compartment of the Hogwarts Express. James, whose home life was absolutely ideal always wanted to know what the other three of them got up to with their family.

Peter looked a little shifty and uncomfortable, but responded anyway." Mum always cooks an absolutely fantastic Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. I'll open gifts on Christmas morning. We might go see my gran if she's feeling up to it, but she's been sick for the last couple of years."

Hearing Peter's plans, Sirius wasn't sure why he'd been uncomfortable sharing it. Sure, his plans weren't as grand as the get-togethers and parties that James would be experiencing, but his Christmas sounded perfectly wonderful. Sirius wished his Christmas could be like that. Instead, he was looking at two weeks of barely concealed contempt and hostility, no lovingly prepared dinner, and parents more concerned with their standing in society than the spirit of Christmas. Sirius would give anything to have a Christmas like Peter's.

"Well, I for one will be attending all of the most exclusive pureblood parties, mocking them all mercilessly. Then I'll get to wake up on Christmas morning and be gifted yet another book proclaiming how great my family is when all I really want is the new Whipshot broom," Sirius spoke. He kept his tone light and joking so that his friends wouldn't know how soul sucking he found having to spend the holidays with his family.

"My mum's probably going to spend the entire week leading up to Christmas Day cooking and preparing, even though it'll only be my dad and I enjoying it," Remus added, acting just as Sirius wanted him to and not focusing and obsessing over his words.

For the rest of the trip into London, the four Gryffindors played Exploding Snap. Remus, whose mother was a Muggle, also tried to teach the others how to play a card game called poker. He was only minimally successful but all the boys enjoyed the attempts.

Finally, several hours after they'd left Hogsmeade station, the Hogwarts Express pulled into platform 9 ¾. James, Peter, and Remus all began looking out at the crowd assembled on the platform, looking for their parents. Sirius just sat back in his seat. His parents had decided there were far too many muggles at the muggle King's Cross station. As a result, Orion and Walburga would not be stepping a foot anywhere near it again. He and Regulus would just have to figure out how to get home on their own.

'Oh how great it is to belong to the noble house of Black. Toujours pur!' Sirius thought as the train stopped and students began disembarking.

* * *

"Are you sure it's coming?" Regulus asked for what felt like the hundredth time. Sirius was so close to hexing his brother, but the severe penalties for underaged magic and magic performing in the presence of a muggle save the younger Black. The two brothers were sitting on their trunks down a random side street about a block from King's Cross.

"I'm sure. The Knight Bus always shows up for a witch or wizard in need. We are wizards in need. Ergo, the bus will come. Just give it time. London is a huge city and it might no be particularly close at the moment. Now be patient and stop asking or I'll hex you a nice pair of donkey ears when we get home," Sirius grumbled. He turned to glare at his brother so the younger Black knew his threat was serious. After that, Regulus sat quietly on his trunk.

However, after sitting silently in the cold night for several minutes, Sirius found himself wishing his brother would talk to give him something to do. The Knight Bus sure was taking its sweet time.

"Can I ask you something?" Sirius spoke, breaking the mounting silence. It had been something that he'd been mulling over for several weeks, but had held his tongue because it was a touchy subject. When Sirius and Regulus had been young boys they had been as thick as thieves. Then, as they'd grown up, they'd grown apart. Sirius had begun to question his parents and the world they'd created, while Regulus had gone along with his parents' unflinchingly and unfailingly. Now, their relationship was so strained that Sirius was apprehensive having a discussion with his brother.

"I guess," Regulus asked after several seconds of silence in which Sirius hypothesized that his brother was weighing agreeing to hear out Sirius' question or remain in their strain and awkward silence. Sirius was glad that his brother had gone with the former.

"Why did you help Snivellus –ah- Severus? Why did you tell him all those things about me? Those private things? I thought, that us being brothers would mean you wouldn't betray me like that. I guess I was wrong." Sirius tried to keep his tone conversational, hoping that it would help his brother to open up. However, he couldn't help the flares and flashed of anger that broke into his voice.

Regulus didn't answer, didn't say a single word. He didn't even turn to look at Sirius. Instead, he stared out into the dark night. Sirius, not backing down, stared at the side of his brother's head. He hoped that the intensity of his stare might wear the younger Black down and get him to explain how their relationship had deteriorated so far that Regulus would betray his secrets.

Suddenly, from down the street, a tall, skinny, purple bus popped into existence and sped towards the boys. Regulus quickly stood; ready to get on the bus as soon as it stopped. Sirius cursed under his breath as his brother was given an out and the older Black still had no answers. That moment, in Sirius' eyes, would become emblematic of the next two weeks.

Just when things might have been going his way, something came up to ruin his plans. It all totalled up to the worst Christmas yet for the Gryffindor.

'Bah-humbug!'

* * *

James eagerly jumped from the train, bid his friends goodbye, and hurried over to his smiling parents. He embraced them, pulling them in tight and holding on for maybe a beat too long. As amazing a time James had learning magic, playing Quidditch, and wreaking havoc with Peter, Remus, and Sirius, he did still miss his parents. Finally being reunited felt very good, and James just didn't want to let go right away.

"Alright, Jamie, I've been dying to know how Quidditch has been going. Your mother and I are extremely proud of your accomplishments," James' father spoke, a jovial smile on his face. He gently pulled his son away from him and began leading the Potters out of the busy platform 9 ¾, out into the muggle train station and, eventually out onto the busy London street. As they walked, James happily regaled his glowing parents with tales of his more palatable adventures. When he had finally told his parents everything he could think of, his mother began telling James about their Christmas plans.

"My sewing group is meeting tomorrow to finish up our Christmas sewing projects. Our friends will be coming over for dinner on the 23rd. I'd appreciate your help, James, in preparing for that, as I always need to cook and bake quite a lot. We should have a quiet Christmas Eve, just the three of us. So, it'll be up to you James to pick what you'd like to do. Then, of course, all the Potters will be over on Christmas Day for our annual Potter family extravaganza.

"It'll be a busy few days, but everyone wants to see the newest member of the great and grand Gryffindor Quidditch team. Of course, being the proud parents we are, we just couldn't say no to anyone! I just may not stop cooking until Boxing Day, but it'll all be worth it!" Euphemia Potter finished her explanation just as the trio arrived at Potter Manner. It was a grand house nestled in the countryside outside of the wizarding village of Godric's Hallow.

As James walked up the familiar front path and took in the sight of the Christmas lights, wreaths, candles, and other decorations that adorned the large house, he felt an overwhelming feeling building up inside him. Just when he thought he couldn't handle anymore, the Potter's house elf burst from the Christmassy house and ran right at James. It sure was good to be home.

* * *

The Potter's had two parties that year to celebrate the time of year. James always loved these parties. They were filled with joy and laughter, people generally and obviously enjoying themselves. People would eat, and drink, and talk, and dance. Everything about it made James feel as if he were being enveloped in a warm, familiar hug.

It also didn't hurt that, being basically the only kid at the parties, he was the perpetual center of attention. His parents were older, their friends were older; it didn't lead to James having a lot of family friends around his age. Most of the people who attended the Potter's Christmas parties didn't have a lot of interactions with young children. James was a rarity in most of their lives.

But that year, something was different. The normal, jovial atmosphere that permeated the Potter's country manor house was tinged with something different, something darker. Every room James walked in to, every group and conversation he tried to join, James could hear uneasy whispers. However, he could never get close enough to hear what was being said.

"Uncle Fergus!" James called as he walked up to a group of Potter relations he knew as Aunt and Uncle, though they were not his parents' siblings. They, like almost all the other adults at the party, had been quietly whispering to each other. As soon as James had walked up, they all stopped and smiled down at him.

"Jamie! What can we do for you?" the jovial man James knew as Uncle Fergus asked. James had picked him out of all the other adults at the party because Fergus had yet to hide anything from the younger Potter. James could ask the man anything and be guaranteed an answer.

"I was wondering if you could tell me what everyone is whispering about, Uncle Fergus. Apparently there is something major that is on everyone's lips, but I haven't the slightest clue as to what it is. Surely if it is so important I should be made aware." James had practiced his speech several times before receiving it and he chose his words carefully in an attempt to sound as grown up as he could.

However, as soon as the question had passed his lips, every member of the group began acting extremely awkward. They all fidgeted, shifted their weight, rubbed various body parts and refused to look the young boy in the eye. Uncle Fergus rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled half-heartedly.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Jamie. We were just catching up with each other. Haven't seen some of these people since last year. We weren't whispering. Perhaps you're getting hungry and hearing things. How about you go into the kitchen and grab some food." Fergus then pushed James towards the kitchen door.

The young boy eventually relented, but his suspicions were definitely raised. Something was going on and James was going to get to the bottom of it.


	14. Chapter 14: Pranksters Gonna Prank

_I'm not upset that you lied to me; I'm upset that from now on I cannot believe you_

 _~Freidrich Nietzsche_

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen**

 **Pranksters Gonna Prank**

* * *

Peter had been counting down the days, hours, and minutes until he could finally be reunited with his friends. His mother he loved, absolutely and completely. That was why he returned home over Christmas. He wanted to spend time with her, and make sure that she was okay and not being too mistreated by his father. But, despite his love for his mother, he still couldn't wait to be back at Hogwarts, to be back I Gryffindor dorm, to be back with his friends. His father did that.

Now, he was back, sitting on the Hogwarts Express, mere hours from returning to the school that was rapidly becoming his home. He was sitting, talking and joking amongst his three best friends. The past two weeks, all the stress and terror he'd experienced over Christmas break, melted away. He was finally back where he belonged.

"Okay, so first trying to come up with dirt on Severus and then getting bogged down by school work has put us behind in our general havoc-wreaking. We were too concerned about pulling something big on Snivellus that we haven't been tormenting him enough. He's been cooling his heels and walking around with far too much confidence. As soon as we get back to Hogwarts, we have to do all we can to rectify that situation," James spoke, a shinning gleam in his eyes that was only ever present when he was scheming and plotting.

"I'm so glad you said that, Jamesy. I think I've got the perfect plan to take our dear friend down a few pegs," Sirius responded. Peter, eager to hear Sirius' always-ingenious plan, leaned in closer. James and Remus did the same. In whispered, conspiratorial tones, Sirius laid out his plan.

Peter was right. His plan was ingenious. Snivellus was going to get exactly what he deserved. Now, more than ever, the mousy boy couldn't wait to step foot back on the castle grounds.

* * *

"Today we will be learning the reduction and enlargement charms. For now, we will focus on objects, but in fifth year you will begin to work with living beings," Professor Flitwick, the charms professor and head of Ravenclaw, spoke from his small dais at the front of the classroom. He paced a little as he spoke and Peter found himself slightly entranced.

From his left side, Peter could feel the excitement emanating from James. The messy haired boy loved learning new spells, especially ones that lent themselves so nicely to pranking. Shrinking and enlarging could lead to a lot of chaos and mayhem. Peter focused in on Professor Flitwick's words, determined to lean the spell so he could perform it to help James and Sirius with their pranking.

"While the two charms are linked, they are both their own unique charms that come with their own incantations and wand work. Because of this, we will start with the reduction, or shrinking charm.

"The incantation spoke clearly and precisely, is reducio. As you say the word, picture in your minds eye your desired object getting smaller, and wave your wand like this." Professor Flitwick then moved his wand in an intricate way that Peter found very hard to follow. Hopefully, watching James would help him with that. After a few more minutes of instruction, Professor Flitwick dismissed the class to practice their shrinking charms.

As soon as they were free, Sirius who was sitting on Peter's right, turned to the other three, "So, I think this afternoon once classes are done, we get right to work o our plan to tear Snivellus off his high horse. I think we need to get it out there as soon as possible so we don't have to deal with Mr. High and Mighty any longer than is absolutely necessary so – reducio!" The circulating of Professor Flitwick momentarily interrupted Sirius' plotting. Surprisingly, despite his lack of focus only moments before casting the spell, Sirius managed to shrink his large textbook to a more convenient pocket size version.

"Good work, Mr. Black," Professor Flitwick cheered before quickly moving on. The boys quickly returned focus to each other.

"I say we meet in the common room, at our table, with your best quills and your nicest ink, and we get started on everything right after dinner," James responded, taking up the mantle of planning Sirius had been forced to drop moments before by Professor Flitwick. The other boys nodded their agreement, quickly coming to consensus. That being agreed upon, they all turned back to their task at hand, practicing their shrinking charms. But Peter was far too distracted to make anything smaller. His brain was much too full with visions of tearing Snape down. He couldn't wait to get started on their plan.

* * *

The rest of the day passed agonizingly slow. Peter couldn't focus on the lectures or the schoolwork he was required to do. Luckily, Peter's previous lack of work ability masked his distraction. All his professors simply wrote off his lost-in-thought expression as typical Peter. Then finally, classes let out and Peter and his friends were free.

They momentarily parted ways, each heading off to gather their own ingredients and supplies. James and Sirius hurried off to their down room to collect their quills, paper, and ink. Remus headed off to the library to see if there were any volumes that could help them with their havoc wreaking. Peter, always one to think of his stomach, headed to the kitchens to procure snacks and food. These prank planning sessions could sometimes go late into the night and James ad Sirius were not good at breaking for meals.

Just as the clock was striking four in the afternoon, the quartet settled into their typical corner of the Gryffindor common room. Remus had managed to find a few books on calligraphy and poster making that he placed in the middle of their table. He'd also found a copying spell that would cut their workload down significantly. Last but not least, Peter filled whatever spaces were left with the sweets and goodies he had procured from the ever-helpful house elves.

"Okay," James began, "I'm not sure how many posters we will need to make. Enough to plaster around the places that Snape typically gives."

"We also need to consider word getting back to Snape. If too many people who know the truth see the posters, they could ruin everything by letting Snape in on the secret." Sirius jumped in. Peter agreed that was a good point and one that he definitely hadn't considered.

"But in order for Snape to be told, people have to want to help him. One piece of information that I was able to gather about Snape was that he isn't really liked amongst the Slytherins. He's definitely on the outs, so he might not find out that this is all a joke, even in the others come across the posters," James reasoned. His logic seemed sound and no one had any counterpoints, so they moved on with their planning.

It took a little discussion to decide what exactly the posters would say and what they would look like, but once that had been established, the four boys got down to work. Remus carefully wrote out the first few posters. James and Sirius perused the book Remus had found on copying spells and quickly learned one of the more simpler spells. Peter helped keep everything organized and made sure that they were all taking time to eat. It was a pretty slick system and, by the time the prefects were calling for lights out, the four second year boys had managed to make or copy 100 posters.

Peter couldn't wait to see Snape's face.

* * *

Over the next week, Peter, Remus, James, and Sirius carefully and meticulously put up their posters. They made sure to cover all the places Snape frequented and were also careful that they kept the minimum amount of outside eyes from seeing the posters. Despite their belief that people wouldn't likely leak the truth of their plan to Snivellus, they didn't want to press their luck. You could never be too sure when the human element was involved.

Over and over again, Snape was bombarded by the message that Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter wanted him to read. The fact that the posters kept disappearing and reappearing from different locations only added to the validity of the message.

 _Attention Slytherins_

 _For their eyes only_

 _Secret Quidditch announcement_

 _In an attempt to better our team, and ensure Slytherin's victory in the Quidditch cup this year, Slytherin is replacing certain members of the team. Some players have not been pulling their weight and so we are seeking talent to fill their place._

 _Keep this a secret, as we don't want the other houses finding out about our problems and using them against us. Also, not all members of the team have been made aware of the changes and it is best they are not told until it is too late for them to do anything about the decisions._

 _If you think you have talent and are willing to work extremely hard, then meet down at the pitch this Saturday at 7:00 am. Tell no one or you won't even be considered._

On Friday morning, James and Sirius felt that Snivellus had been bombarded with their message enough. They removed all their posters, burning them in the Gryffindor fireplace to ensure they didn't fall into the wrong hands. Then, all they had left to do was wait.

Peter was a little worried that Snape wouldn't be enticed by tryouts and the chance to be on the Slytherin team. After all, the greasy haired boy hadn't really expressed any interest in playing Quidditch. James, however, assured the mousy boy that Snape would go for it, that he had a strong desire to play on the Slytherin Quidditch team.

"Plus," James added at dinner on Friday, "Snivellus is on the outside looking in with the Slytherins. Anything he can do to get even a toe on the inside would be hard to pass up. Possibly getting on the Quidditch team, the ultimate in-crowd, will be like catnip to him," Peter was still a little unsure about it all, but allowed James' confidence to become his own. He enjoyed his Friday night, ignoring the little voice of doubt in the back of his mind.

The quartet woke early on Saturday. They'd told Snape to be at the Quidditch pitch at 7:00 am and had a few last minute pieces of their prank puzzles to put into place before Snape got there. First, they needed to spread a rumour for people to head down to the pitch to enjoy Snape's humiliation. A poster tacked to the Gryffindor common room notice board and a sly comment to the resident Hogwarts busybody was enough to do the trick.

Second, they snuck down to the pitch, into the broom storage room. Then, once they were done those two steps, Peter, Remus, James, and Sirius took a place in the stands to wait. Slowly, they began to fill with people and their curious chatter. Peter felt the anticipation growing.

Finally, the clock struck 7:00 in the morning. Knowing the pre-appointed time had arrived, the crowd quieted down and waited. After about three minutes, a hunched figure carefully, and slightly apprehensively, made his or her way onto the pitch. Though Peter couldn't see his face, the mousy boy was almost positive that it was Snape.

When Snape made it to the middle of the pitch, the havoc began. It started with a slow rumbling. Knowing what was coming, a self-satisfied smile crossed Peter's face. Seconds later, the question of what was making the rumbling sound was answered. From the direction of the team change rooms came a veritable stampede of brooms. The animated objects honed in on their target and attacked.

Snape was whacked by the bristles and hit by the handles. Some brooms flew under his flailing arms, lifted him a few feet into the air, the dropped him back to the earth. It wasn't a high enough fall to do any serious damage, but it would have left some bruises. Then, as a finale of sorts, a broom flew between his legs, lifted him up into the air, and flew the panicking boy around the pitch.

Those gathered in the stands laughed and cheered throughout the whole ordeal. As the broom flew Snivellus around the pitch, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter stood and bowed, acknowledging their hardwork and taking in the happy sounds of those around them.

It felt good to be back.


	15. Chapter 15: Breakthrough

_When you have a choice to make and don't make it, that is in itself a choice_

 _~William James_

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen**

 **Breakthrough**

* * *

"Another snowy day below zero!" James complained at breakfast one morning in mid-February. "If the weather doesn't improve soon I might have to quit the Quidditch team. Frank keeps making us practice in snowstorms and I'm worried I'm going to loose a finger. You can't be a chaser with only four fingers!"

Winter at Hogwarts, which held a beauty and majesty in the weeks leading up to Christmas, was more of an annoying headache afterwards. It was grey, and cold, and seemingly never-ending. January and February had seen snow, clouds, wind, and not much else. The whole castle, it seemed couldn't wait until the spring of late March and April arrived.

"Yes, winter is terrible," Remus responded, his words mumbled. He was only half paying attention to James' griping. The messy haired boy had spoken almost the exact same words every morning for a week. Instead, Remus chose to focus on his newspaper, and the alarmingly increasing stories of seemingly random muggle attacks. The journalist writing the articles seemed to hint of a connection between the attacks, a magical one which was why those stories were present in the Daily Prophet. However, the authors refused to outright state the connections and instead chose to cloak it in vague terms. Remus was intrigued, hoping that enough close reading might illuminate the missing link. So far, he hadn't had any luck in his ministrations.

"You would be more perturbed, my dear Remy, if you ever actually left the library," Sirius responded, ribbing Remus with his elbow to ensure his undivided attention. However, the nickname 'Remy' would have been enough. Remus put down the paper and shot the other boy a look that expressed Remus' displeasure with the new nickname Sirius was trying out.

"Why would anyone want to leave the library when the weather outside is so frightful. The library always has a warm, glowing fire to sit and read by."

"I am rapidly coming to see things your way," James responded, sipping hot tea in an attempt to warm himself up. He'd had Quidditch practice the previous afternoon, but still seemed to feel the chill of the weather. "Thankfully, Frank has a date this weekend and has decided to focus on that and given us a reprieve for the next few days."

"Oh a date? Frankie has a date? With whom, pray tell?" Sirius asked, his tone in a slight falsetto. He clasped his hands together on one side of his head and batted his eyelashes at James. With this turn in conversation towards a topic that Remus didn't particularly care about, he gladly returned to his newspaper and his quest to uncover its secrets.

However, just as he was about to re-immerse himself in the printed text, a strange sight caught his eye. Across the hall above the Slytherin house table, a single solitary owl circled in the air. The mail had arrived about twenty minutes before, so the sight of the owl was quite out-of-place. Remus found his attention drawn to the owl like a magnet.

Finally, the solitary bird seemed to locate his charge and began a slow descent. Remus needed to lean over across Sirius to clearly see whom the bird was sitting in front of, but the other boy was too enthralled in his conversation about Frank Longbottom's love life to really notice.

With a slight thrill, Remus discovered that the owl, a latter clutched in it's talons, had been intended for Severus Snape. The Slytherin was receiving an odd, attention-grabbing letter. Yet another mystery to be solved.

* * *

A week later, Remus was sitting in the library, hard at work. The two mysteries, the one in the Daily Prophet and the one involving Snape, had fled from his mind shortly after they'd rested there; Remus had far too much schoolwork to keep unrelated information in his mind.

He was working away, on his own as his friends had decided to brave the weather and help James train for an upcoming Quidditch game. The library was full, with most students choosing its cozy atmosphere to complete their schoolwork. As such, a quiet, but ever-present buss, filled the stacks and tables. Because of this, Remus didn't hear the approach of Lily until she pulled out a chair and sat down across from him.

Remus was startled by the, in his reality, sudden appearance of the redhead. He knocked over an inkbottle in his surprise, but a quietly whispered evanesco from Lily made the stick mess disappear.

"Sorry to startle you, Remus. I just saw you sitting here aloe and thought I would come over and keep you company." Lily smiled sweetly and apologetically.

"My fault. Sometimes I get so focused on my work a heard of hippogriffs could go storming through the library behind me and I wouldn't eve be aware of it." Remus returned Lily's sweet smile, then accepted his gaze back to his work. Normally, when Lily kept Remus company, it didn't involve a lot of rest. Yet, after only five minutes of trying to get back to work, Remus couldn't help but feel like Lily was staring at him.

Slowly, and a little apprehensively, Remus raised his gaze back to Lily. He met her troubled green pools, correct in his feeling that she had been staring at him. Lily's lips were drawn and her fingers restlessly danced across the table. Her form seemed to hum with anxiety. Apparently, Lily hadn't simply come over to keep him company.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Remus asked, carefully placing down his quill in a gesture that was meat to convey he was giving her his full attention.

"I was just thinking, about the conversation we had before Christmas. You were asking me about Severus and I was a little leery of you. You are good friends with James and Sirius, who seem to derive pleasure from torturing Sev, even when he doesn't do anything to provoke it. I was worried that you were trying to get information for them, so the pair of them could trust what I tell you and use it against Sev.

"But," Lily paused, taking a deep breath before continuing o, "I thought about it, and you, and everything over Christmas, and I've decided something. There are things that my friends do that I think are silly, or idiotic, or something I would never do myself. If someone were to judge me based solely on what my friends were doing, I would feel cheated. So, I'm going to stop doing that with you, just because you associated with those gits, doesn't mean you are one yourself."

Remus smiled at Lily's pronouncement, though he felt a little undeserving. Lily had bee spot on with her initial assessment and, as such, her erroneously giving him the benefit of the doubt made Remus' stomach twist and contort.

"I was also thinking that maybe you could use your friendship with James and Sirius to do some good. I think I've come up with a way you can help Severus, bond with him, and maybe you could convince others to do the same." Lily batted her eyes ad pouted slightly, trying to use her feminine whiles to get Remus to agree to something he most likely wouldn't want to do. Under Lily's cute pressure, the sandy haired boy relented.

"I make no guarantees, but I will try my best to convince James and Sirius to lay off Snape. I don't know if friendship will be quite possible at this time," Remus responded. He hoped his concession would be enough for Lily, because he knew he could not promise and deliver any more. After a pause, the red haired girl nodded her agreement to Remus' words.

"Well, I was thinking that a good way for you to bond with Severus and earn his friendship is to help him out with something, help him face a fear. It won't be easy and it could take a lot of effort on you part to earn his trust, seeing how poorly you've treated him in the past. If you stick with it though, show him that you care about him, you'll end up with a truly great friend.

"My idea was that you could work on helping Sev face his fear of heights. He really wants to get over it because it is basically the only thing holding him back from making the Slytherin Quidditch team. And the Quidditch team is a major dream to him, which is very similar to James potter if I'm not mistaken." Lily gave Remus a meaningful look at her last words, clearly trying to put an emphasis on this commonality between James and Snape. Remus could feel the unsaid statement that hung in the air.

'if these two are so similar, have so many things in common, why does James, and by extension Sirius, insist on pestering and bullying the poor boy?'

"Heights," Remus spoke slowly, almost as if he were rolling the word around in his mouth as he said it. He could feel Lily staring at him, waiting for his reaction and response to her suggestion. Remus was quickly finding it harder and harder to meet Lily's anticipatory gaze.

Lily had come to him so full of hope, wanting her plan to help her good friend and ease any tension she might be feeling about befriending one of his tormentors. She genuinely wanted every one to get along. It was endlessly enduring. But Remus felt a tension about the whole thing. Lily's attempt to heal the situation between the four second-year Gryffindor boys and the solitary Slytherin dropped into Remus' lap the exact information he, Peter, James, and Sirius had spent months working to obtain. He now had knowledge about Snivellus that he could use against the boy.

'But,' the better half of his mind protested, 'you can't use it, can't share what you know with the others. Lily brought it to you in confidence, with the intention of you using it to befriend Snape, not use it to hurt and potentially destroy him. if you tell James or Sirius, or even Peter, they will surely take it and use it for nefarious purposes.'

'Yes, but friends don't keep secrets from other friends when that secret is something they've been searching for. They have desired this bit of information for months; to keep it from them would be cruel. Plus, aside from your _other_ secret, you are lousy at keeping things private.' The other side of Remus, the side that was drawn to the rule-breaking, trouble-making natures of James and Sirius, argued back.

It was quite the internal battle wagging in his head and heart, and it would most likely lead to many sleepless nights as he tried to come to a final answer. However, in that moment, there was still the matter of Lily, who was less and less politely awaiting his response.

"I'll see what I can do. Try and reach out to Snape on friendly terms and mend bridges," Remus finally responded, though his tone was tight and strained. He really hated potentially letting Lily down, but needed to respond to her in some way before she got to suspicious.

However, Lily didn't seem to realise the difficulty he was having and, with a satisfied nod, she accepted his promise the stood and left. Remus, now alone, did not return to his previous work, but instead sat rooted in place, overcome by the internal war.

* * *

Remus was so bothered by the decision he had to make, the choice between his friendship with Lily and his friendship with James and Sirius, that he didn't show up at his dorm until well after curfew. He'd been kicked out of the library when it closed and had just wandered the hallways aimlessly. Finally, a kindly prefect came upon the boy and, realizing that he was out of sorts, returned him to the Gryffindor common room.

"Remus! You in there? Hello, Remus?" James spoke, waving a hand in front of the other boy's face. It had no affect as Remus continued standing in the middle of his dorm room, not blinking.

"REMY!" Sirius yelled, finally getting a rise out of the sandy haired boy with his disliked nickname. Remus blinked a few times, and his eyes finally focused on the concerned faces of his friends.

"I said don't call me that," Remus responded before shuffling over to his bed and beginning his night time routine.

"You need to get out of the library more, Remus. It's making you go nutty," Sirius called. The other three boys gave their friend strange, slightly worried looks, but returned to what they'd been doing before Remus had arrived. They returned to their seats on their beds, eyes focused on Sirius who had been discussing something.

"Where was I? Ah, yes. So I've been hanging around with a few third and forth year Slytherins. They approached me after our broom prank on Snivellus. Said they'd seen the signs, but kept it to themselves because they wanted to see what we had in mind for the greasy git. They like him just as much as we do!

"Anyway, I'd been sort of interrogating them, trying to get any info they had on the git that we could use and I think I hit the jackpot. One of them told me that, last year, they hung Snape from the chandelier in the Slytherin common room and the scaredy cat peed himself! Apparently Snivellus is absolutely terrified of heights!"

At Sirius' words, Remus froze, tensed, and then slowly relaxed. Sirius had come to the same information all on his own; Remus didn't need to tell them anything! He didn't need to make a choice between the boys and Lily.

Now, they could torment Snape and he would have a clear conscience. All was good.


	16. Chapter 16: Plans, Plots, and Quidditch

_A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow_

 _~Proverb_

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen**

 **Plans, Plots, and Quidditch**

* * *

James was giddy. On a high. The past few months, weeks, days, had been fairly hopeless. The messy haired boy, who was so used to things going exactly his way, was beginning to think the universe had turned against him. Why was it as difficult to find out one useable piece of information on Snape? Sure he didn't have a lot of friends, and those friends he did have were not fans of the four Gryffindor second years. Despite those facts though, someone should know something.

Then it had all turned around. They'd stopped focusing on their task at hand and the solution had fallen right into their lap. They hadn't searched it out or anything. The universe did still work in James' favour!

"Heights!" James exclaimed, trying to keep his voice quiet, but not succeeding. He received a harsh look and an angry 'shhh' from the school's librarian. He shot her an apologetic look in turn and returned back to his friends.

The four were sitting at a table in the library, trying to get schoolwork finished. However, James was too distracted by the information he'd received the night before to focus on his work, and he was distracting his friends right along with him.

"I know! It's awesome!" Peter exclaimed, much quieter than James had. His tone and expression were just as giddy as James', though a slight hesitation in his voice made it seem like he wasn't sure why he should be giddy over heights.

"The real question now is," Sirius jumped in, his tone and posture much more sombre and serious than others, "what are we going to do about it? Obviously bring Snivellus up somewhere height and leave him there, but what are the details of our plan?"

"Something else we need to think of is when," the always-practical voice of Remus Lupin spoke up. "It's almost March. If we are going to pull of something large scale enough that it has a lasting impact on the school, and especially on Snape, it'll certainly take some time. Like a few weeks at least. Not to mention some of that time will be taken up by classes and classwork. As the weeks go on, our time will only become less as we get more and more work. We don't want to leave this for too long."

James gave Remus an incredulous look. "We are not going to leave this. We finally have an answer to our months-long quest. I don't know about you, but I won't get on planning and executing this sooner than as soon as possible. It's already taken us much too long to respond to Snivellus' slight on our honour from earlier this year. We have to act now!"

James finished his speech louder than he had intended and received another reproachful look and irritated 'shh' from the librarian. He also received nods and signs of agreement from his friends.

"I just wanted to make sure you'd thought of it," Remus responded nonchalantly, returning to the textbook he'd bee reading. James, though he may have seemed put off by the perceived implication of putting off his pranking, made a mental note to find someway to thank the sandy haired boy for his thoughtfulness.

"Right, well other things we need to consider," Sirius spoke. He paused and turned to look at Remus; the other boy was blissfully unaware of the staring. Sirius then nudged Remus, getting the other boy's attention.

"Can you take notes?" Sirius whispered to the sandy haired boy, before raising his volume to talk to all three. "The other things we need to consider are, where we will take Snape, what we will do with, or too, him, how we will get him to go along with it and, most importantly, how we will spread the word of what we did without it getting back to the professors." As Sirius spoke, Remus scratched out the list. He then used the same spell they'd used to recreate their posters earlier that month and passed out the list.

"I say we divide and conquer this list. Each of us take a task, come up with a couple possible solutions and then we can decide as a group what our final plan will be. I'll take the where," James spoke, writing a little J next to that part of the list.

"I'll take the how. I'm sure, at the very least, I can ask those third year Slytherins to come up with some way to get Snivellus to trust us, but I'm sure I can came up with something." Sirius followed suit, and wrote a small S beside his point.

"I think what we will do is sort of dependent on where, so I'll keep that one too. Remus, as the only one of us with the best understanding of all the rules, I think you should take how we will spread the word, but get away with it scot-free." James added, putting the right letters beside each point.

"And Peter, you're always so helpful! You can help each of us with our own tasks. You know, do research, be there to bounce ideas off of, and, of course, get snacks," Sirius said, realizing that all the jobs had been claimed before Peter had been given one.

"Works for me!" Peter squeaked. James smiled warmly at his friends, giddy about what they were about to do.

* * *

James' giddiness quickly began to dissipate. Hogwarts was a castle; it had countless towers and turrets. He thought that finding a tall place to take Snape would be a piece of cake. That was why he'd also taken on the what task as well. Yet, despite the fact that James had explored every easily accessible spot, and some not so accessible spots, none of the high points in the castle spoke to him.

They were either closed in, or next to impossible to really experience the true height of the place they were standing. Apparently, Hogwarts had been build with student safety in mind, and in such a way to thwart James' fun having and havoc wreaking. It was entirely unfair! How was he supposed to torment Snape?

Luckily, James wasn't given too much time to dwell on his failures and frustrations. He, and the other members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, had a rapidly approaching match against Hufflepuff. Normally, it was scheduled for mid-February, but a terrible winter storm had forced the match to be rescheduled. The extra time should have given the players a reprieve, but Frank felt that they should capitalize on the extra time and became an even better team.

'At least,' James thought as he mounted his broom and flew into position, 'the sky is blue and only a little bit overcast.' It was the first day that wasn't cold, and grey, and oppressive. James was playing the game that he loved for the first time in months. So what if he couldn't figure out his prank on Snivellus? He had so many other good things going for him.

James continued his little pep talk as Broadmoor walked out onto the pitch and began the game. James was trying to keep his mind focused on the game; he didn't want to be responsible for Gryffindor's loss because of his concern over his own problems.

The game began in earnest and everything, the crowd, the announcer, and thankfully, his problems, all melted away. His sole focus was the game and the Quaffle.

Frank managed to catch the Quaffle as soon as it was released and took off towards the Hufflepuff goal. James and Price, the other chaser on the team, quickly pursued flying various formations around Frank, and occasionally passing the Quaffle between them. Hufflepuff fought back with bludgers and defensive formations, but Longbottom was able to make it to the goal and score.

Quickly, Gryffindor managed to go up three goals before Hufflepuff managed to up three goals before Hufflepuff had significant possession of the Quaffle. Their three chasers took off towards the Gryffindor goal, but were held up by the two Gryffindor beaters, Sweeny and Hodgins. James was able to speed up and get in front of the Hufflepuffs, Meyers, Rudolph, and Smith. He charged at the three of them, hoping that his game of chicken would cause Smith, the current Hufflepuff in possession of the Quaffle, to either drop the ball or fly off course and give Longbottom and Price a chance to get the Quaffle back.

However, as James flew straight at the trio, not realizing James' plan, Hodgins sent a bludger at Smith. Its flight path was such that, if James kept on, the bludger would smash into his broom. Despite this fact, James continued on his planned trajectory, hoping he could still execute and get outta doge before the bludger made impact.

Smith, for his part, stared James down, not willing to let the younger boy win the competition. With neither boy willing to budge, the three flying objects continued on their collision course. James made some quick mental calculations and determined his point of no return, the point at which if he didn't get out of the way, he would be hit AND run into Smith. And that point was quickly approaching.

Finally, James could see a slight crack in Smith's expression. The Hufflepuff wasn't a match for James' bravery and foolhardiness, and it was beginning to show. A small smirk crossed the messy haired boy's face. Then, at the last possible second, Smith veered right, towards an awaiting Longbottom and Sweeny. James, having no other option himself, shot straight upward and the bludger sailed harmlessly passed him.

As James sailed up, over the pitch, he looked over at the castle, the cause of his consternation for the passed few weeks or so, and he got a different vantage point. Suddenly, floating above the Quidditch pitch, he saw the castle and its turrets in a disparate light. And just like that, he knew.

He knew where they would take Snape and what they would do.

"Gryffindor scores! 40 – 0!"


	17. Chapter 17: And So It Goes

_The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once_

 _~Albert Einstein_

* * *

 **Chapter Seventeen**

 **And So It Goes**

* * *

"Fantastic, Jamesy! Absolutely fantastic!" Sirius exclaimed. The four boys were sitting in their regular spots at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. It was breakfast and, as per normal, James and Sirius were loudly discussing various topics between large mouthfuls of the absolutely delicious food that was meticulously prepared by an army of house elves for the students of Hogwarts. Remus had his nose buried in that day's edition of the Daily Prophet, the front page plastered with an interesting mix of Quidditch rivalry gone to far, a high-ranking employee of the Ministry of Magic caught in a scandal, a young squib bravely facing harsh discrimination, and several cruel attacks on muggles. Peter hung on every word James and Sirius said, his breakfast occasionally forgotten.

"I was a little worried that Smith wouldn't go along with it and fly right into me. Thankfully, though, he's got something between his ears!" James punctuated his sentence by shovelling more food into his mouth.

"And that manoeuvre at the end, where you basically flew straight up to avoid the bludger! Brilliant! I wish I could fly like that!" Peter squeaked. He was excitedly tearing apart a piece of toast, but not eating it.

"Yes, well, some more practice on a broom this summer Peter, and you'll be flying dives and barrel rolls in no time. I'll ask my parents if you can come visit." The idea of spending time with James outside of Hogwarts made the boy's round face light up like a Christmas tree. James felt his chest swell at the obvious display of admiration. Before he spoke his next comment, he lowered his volume, flitted his eyes around conspiratorially, and leaned in closer to the other three

"I also figured something out there, floating above the roaring crowd and looking at the castle in a way I'd never seen it before. I know where to take Snape and what exactly we should do with him." James then leaned in even further and spoke in barely a whisper. Peter, Remus, and Sirius had to lean in closer and closer to hear what the messy haired boy said next.

"Aha! Brilliant! Fantastic! Ingenious!" Sirius loudly exclaimed despite the fact that the three people he was talking to were mere centimetres away from him. His shout was so loud and unexpected that Peter visibly flinched away from it. He then turned beet red, embarrassed at the exhibition of his naturally frightened state. However, the other three boys were too busy whispering about what James had just said to take note of the mousy boy.

"I'm still working on how to get Snape to trust us. The two Slytherins I'd been talking to apparently only knew that one thing about Snivellus and have been wholly unhelpful. I'm hoping I can maybe subconsciously mine Regulus for something useful. He seems to have gotten quite cozy with Snape, though they haven't been as close as of late. That's probably the only halfway decent piece of information I mined from those two gossipy third years," Sirius whispered.

"I think we have time," Remus added, not looking up from his paper, though he'd leaned in closer with the others. "The professors are going to be significantly increasing our workload until at least Easter break. Some sort of directive had come down from the Ministry to really drill in our learning. Apparently, some of their employees can't even perform basic first and second year magic." The information of an upcoming increase in their workload elicited groans from James and Sirius.

"I don't know how you know that Remus, but if it's true, we'll need your help and organizational skills. If you can make us a schedule, give us time to do our work, me time for Quidditch practice, and still leave a few minutes a day to work on Snape, I think we'll be able to get through this year." James was not about to let his revenge plot go by the wayside. The Slytherin was too cocky and James' plan was too absolutely perfect.

"I'll see what I can do," Remus responded. He finally lowered the Daily Prophet and reached into his bag. With an excited twinkle in his eye, Remus pulled out a piece of parchment and a self-inking quill and began to write out a schedule in earnest.

The rest of breakfast passed with planning, scheduling, and shovelling way too much food into their mouths. Then, just at the end, as the dirty dished disappeared and students stood and began making their way to their first class, an owl hopped along the Slytherin table and stopped in front of Snape.

Just like that, inspiration struck.

* * *

"I love the way your hair glistens?" James suggested. Sirius sat hunched over a piece of parchment, furiously scratching down phrases and then, more often than not, scratching them out.

"Better, but not quite romantic enough," Sirius muttered. He wrote down James' suggestion anyway and scratched out a previous statement.

"Not to rush you two, but you've got five more minutes of prank planning and then we really need to get to work on our Transfiguration essays. They're due in two days and you two are missing some very important parts," Remus spoke, holding up too long pieces of parchment with edits and comments in the sandy haired boy's neat, purposeful printing.

"Yes mom," Sirius called as he continued to write and search out on the paper. James didn't acknowledge Remus' words; he just continued offering up suggestions to Sirius. Remus chuckled to himself before turning to the third length of parchment and the nervous boy who had composed it.

"You forgot to mention the important step of memorizing and picturing the shape of your desired transformed object and why it is so important. Also, this part here, about the incantation is a little vague and confusing. You should try and reword it." Remus gave his feedback with a sincere smile, hoping that Peter wouldn't take it as harsh criticism. In terms of writing, peter was quite detailed and eloquent. Written expression was his best form of communication, and when compared to James' and Sirius' paper, it had significantly fewer corrections to be made. But peter was a sensitive soul and didn't always handle criticism, even when it was beneficial, that well.

This time, however, Peter simply nodded in agreement, took his sheet back from Remus and got right to work on his needed corrections. As he worked, Peter bit his tongue between his molars, the tip sticking out to the side of his mouth, his traditional working-hard face.

Having finished with Peter, Remus turned back to James and Sirius. He intended to persuade them to put their prank planning aside and work on actual important things. However, as he focused on his two friends, he also saw the figure of Frank Longbottom lopping towards the quartet.

"Potter!" Frank spike once he'd reached the table, "I've called an emergency practice in twenty minutes. The Quidditch cup is between Ravenclaw and us and, seeing as they are the last team we face, we need to be better than our best. You better be there!" The prefect and Quidditch captain then nodded to the other three boys and walked away in search of the other Gryffindor team members.

"Sorry, Remus," James said, looking genuinely sorry, "Quidditch practice calls." The messy haired boy then started packing up. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, Sirius began packing up too.

"Where are you going? You don't have practice. What you do have is a Transfiguration essay that requires a fair amount of work." Sirius, however, waved Remus off and continued to unpack.

"Moral support. Plus, I am on the reserve team. What if someone hurts themselves and I need to step in? I'll need to know the plays and moves if that happens. My Transfiguration essay will just have to wait." Sirius then sauntered out of the library, an apologetic James following behind. Remus didn't put up too much protest, knowing that it was pointless.

It was now just him and a concentrating Peter left at their table in the library. The skinny, sandy haired boy shrugged his shoulders and got down to work. Remus had finished his essay several days prior, which was why he had agreed to read and edit the other boys' Transfiguration essays. Now, with some free time on his hands, Remus took out a well-worn piece of parchment.

The parchment had been folded and unfolded several hundred times. Remus pulled it out whenever he had a spare moment, and worked on it bit by bit. On the sheet was a fairly detailed map of Hogwarts castle. The idea to start the map bad been inspired by the countless hours he, James, Sirius, and Peter spent exploring the castle and grounds. While it was often for the purpose of pranking, Remus felt that something productive should come out of their countless hours of work. A map of all that they'd seen and discovered seemed fitting.

It was on this map that Remus was working when Lily Evans approached the table. "What are you working on?" she sweetly asked, pulling up a chair beside Remus so she could look at what he was so carefully working on.

"It's just a map of Hogwarts, secret passageways, hidden rooms and hallways, the wonky step on the staircase to Gryffindor common room. Basically, just a way to get around the place quickly and seamlessly." Lily looked down at the beautiful piece, appreciative of the countless hours or work that had gone into the project.

"I gather some of this knowledge and information came from less than approved means," Lily joked, a gleam in her eye. Remus was a little surprised to see the red-haired girl revelling in the idea of rule-breaking as opposed to lecturing or berating him.

"You're not upset," Remus spoke. He meant it as a statement, a simple observation about her current demeanour. However his surprise at that particular observation made it come out as more of a question.

"Why would I be? I only get upset when your rule flouting ends up being targeted at specific individuals. Exploring the castle after hours or wandering into restricted areas of the castle sound exciting. Not to mention your tongue-tying tarts were a laugh riot and the snowball fight on the final day last year was probably the most fun I've had at Hogwarts." Lily playfully nudged Remus on the arm as she spoke.

"You, ah really?" he sputtered, surprised by her admission. Lily just laughed, a light tinkling bell sound.

"Really. I would think you, of all people, would understand. Respecting and understanding the need and reason for rules, but also accepting that sometimes they need to be questioned and even broken." Remus just stared at Lily, surprised to the point of speechlessness at Lily's words.

"Well, I'll let you get back to your map. It's really quite amazing!" Lily then turned and sauntered off, catching up with her group of giggling and gossiping friends. Remus continued to sit, open mouthed and not entirely sure what had happened.

"And done!" Peter spoke cheerily. Remus, still dazed, slowly turned to the mousy boy. He'd been so quiet during the exchange with Lily that the sandy haired boy forgot his friend was still sitting beside him. Peter seemed to have a similar experience because, as he took in the two empty seats, he blinked his eyes a few times. "When did James and Sirius leave? Where did they go?" he squeaked.

"They, ah, left about twenty minutes ago. Frank Longbottom came around and told James he'd called a Quidditch practice for today. Sirius decided he should go too, and they both packed and left. You didn't know that?" Remus slowly regained himself and his senses as he spoke. Peter meekly shook his head.

"I guess I was just so focused on my writing…" Peter's voice trailed off, some how upset he hadn't known that James and Sirius had left.

"Well, we're both done our work now and practice will probably go on for a little bit yet. Want to go watch?" Remus asked, trying to make Peter feel better. It seemed to work, as peter smiled and quickly began packing up.

* * *

March and the first bit of April passed in much the same way. Planning, Quidditch practices, school work eventually getting done. Then, once the students returned from the Easter Break, Sirius, and James declared they were ready to being tormenting Snape.


	18. Chapter 18: Spring the Trap

_When once a decision is reached and execution is the order of the day, dismiss absolutely all responsibility and care about the outcome_

 _~William James_

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen**

 **Spring the Trap**

* * *

The four Gryffindor second years sat at breakfast, trying, and only barely succeeding, to appear normal and unconcerned. In only a matter of moments, the plan they'd meticulously devised and spent months working on would finally be put into play. The mail would come at precisely 7:30 and among the tired, hooting owls would be one with a letter to Snape.

"Severus, I hope you don't find my letter too forward, but I've been biting my tongue for far too long," Sirius whispered to the other boys, reciting the words Remus, in his most girlish printing, had written a day or two before.

"I've seen you in the hallways, observed you at meals, watched you work in the library. You have a work ethic to envy. Not to mention, the face you make as you scratch thoughts onto paper is absolutely adorable," James continued.

"I just wanted to write to you today to let you know that. That I find you absolutely adorable! I would love to open a discourse with you, but am far to shy to do it in person at this point. If you care to do the same, send your response with this owl and it will get to me." As Peter spoke, the owls arrived, flying and circling above the awaiting students, looking for their desired recipient.

"Sincerely, your secret admirer," Remus finished. He hadn't initially planned to say the end of the letter out loud, but Sirius had stared down the sandy haired boy until he'd relented. Having said his piece, Remus then buried his nose in that day's Daily Prophet that had been delivered to him only seconds before by a harried looking owl. The owl had stolen a link of breakfast sausage off of Sirius' plate before taking off once more.

"Humph," Sirius complained, crossing his arms in frustration and sitting back on the bench. He looked out over the crowd, quickly locating Severus Snape. The greasy haired boy was sitting on his own at the Slytherin table, though Sirius' younger brother Regulus sat only a few seats away.

Glee quickly spread throughout Sirius' body as the small, precocious owl the quartet had chosen from the owlry to deliver their letter, landed on the Slytherin table and hopped towards the surprised looking boy. Severus swivelled his head back and forth, most likely trying to discern if the owl was mistakenly trying to deliver the letter to him, but was really meant to bring it to someone else. Finally, deciding that there was no one near him looking for a letter, the young Slytherin took the letter. Sirius worked hard to suppress the yelp of glee that bubbled up within him and instead turned to James to revel in their first step's success together.

The two boys then turned back to watching Severus across the Great hall. The boy had carefully opened the envelope and was in the middle of reading its contents. As his eyes flitted across the page, Severus' face became redder and redder. A happy, goofy grin spread across Sirius' face at the sight. This plan was ingenious. Not only would it result in the ultimate humiliation for Snape, but it would also be entertaining the entire time. Watching Snape think he had a secret admirer would bring endless joy to Sirius and, most likely James.

Once finished, Severus anxiously pulled a piece of paper out of his bag and quickly scribbled something on it. The second step of the plan was a success! Snape had taken the bait and responded to his 'shy' admirer. The smile on Sirius' face spread farther and his legs, despite his attempts to contain his glee, performed a little jig under the table.

Across the Great Hall, Snape swivelled his head left, right, forward, and behind him before reaching out for the owl. James had told the bird to wait around until it received a response, so the owl had busied itself picking at a large serving plate of scrambled eggs. The Slytherins had started giving Snape odd looks as a result, but the other boy didn't seem to notice. Snape carefully attached his response letter to the small bird's leg. It cooed at him in response and then took off, returning to the owlry as it had been instructed.

James and Sirius forced themselves to wait a few minutes after the owl departed so as to not raise suspicions and alarm Severus. However, the wait was excruciating and Sirius felt like he was going to burst the entire time. Finally, when both boys couldn't stand it a moment longer, they stood from the Gryffindor table and exited the Great Hall. It wasn't the most graceful of inconspicuous exit; James and Sirius, in an attempt to not rush out but still exit quickly, tripped over themselves and each other several times. Luckily, most of the people in the Hall assumed the pair were acting strangely because of an act of realtively innocent tomfoolery and ignored them, Snape included.

Once James and Sirius were out of the Great Hall, they lost all pretence of not rushing. They ran, almost full out, through the various hallways of Hogwarts to the owlry. Neither boy slowed down until they ere on the last few steps of the tower. James and Sirius were both out of breath, but they didn't care. The only goal in their minds was to find that owl, retrieve the message and read Snape's response to their letter.

The small owl they'd roped into their scheme sat on a perch in the middle of the room. Most of the owls, those that had just dropped off mail in the Great Hall, were sleeping, eating or generally relaxing after their long journeys. Because their owl had only travelled from the owlry, it was not as tired and therefore had no need to rest. Instead, it was hopping along the perch and twitching its head around the space.

Slowly, Sirius grabbed a snack for the owl and approached the owl. He then expertly undid the letter and raced back to where James was standing. Together, they unrolled the parchment and read the few words that Snape had scribbled in response.

 _Dear Admirer,_

 _Thank you for your kind words. I wish I could return them with some of my own, but as you have kept your identity a secret, I cannot. Hopefully, after getting to know each other better through letters we can meet in person._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Snape_

And so it began.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, James and Sirius, and Snape exchanged almost daily letters. They were always light, conversational, and flirtatious, laying the trap to get Snape to follow their instructions to set him up for their ultimate prank. The letter exchanging continued through April and in to the first few days of May. Peter was getting antsy, but James and Sirius were taking their time, making sure they had hooked Snape, before they moved on to the next phase.

"It will happen before exams start, Pete, I promise," James reassured Peter. "Sirius and I are aware of the calendar, but we don't think right now it the exact right time. You'll just have to be patient, okay?"

Then, in mid-May, James and Sirius felt they'd reached their moment. They were finally ready to spring their trap and elicit the ultimate humiliation from Snape. It was a sunny, relatively warm afternoon when they chose to act. That morning, Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter sent Snape a letter as his secret admirer.

 _Dear Sev,_

 _I have really enjoyed your letters. I feel like I know you all the better because of it. Getting your letters each day brings a smile to my lips and I find myself anxiously awaiting their arrival each and every day. Sev, I think I am finally ready to meet you in person._

 _Oh I do hope you feel the same. Please let me know,_

 _Your admirer._

They knew that the prospect of getting to meet his secret admirer, and figure out whom the mystery girl was, would be enough to send Snape to the owlry immediately. So, when James and Sirius sent out their owl early that morning, they found a comfortable and out of the way corner to hole up in. In order to pass the time, James and Sirius, much to Remus' joy and amusement, brought their school and books and worked on work that was due that day.

It wasn't an hour after they'd sent the letter that the sound of hurried steps was heard on the stone steps leading up to the owlry. Quietly, James and Sirius prepared to execute their plan. Mere seconds after the sound first started, Snape burst passed the pair, not even registering the presence of the two hidden boys. They, in turn, crept up behind the greasy haired boy.

Snape was bent over a small counter surface, quickly scratching away on a piece of parchment. Recognizing their moment, James nodded to Sirius. Together the pair set off a few flash bang fireworks they'd mail ordered from Zonkos a few weeks prior. The sudden, loud sound startled the owls in the owlry and they all took flight.

The large panicking birds, their wings flapping around rapidly, began to move in on Snape, the only strange thing in the owlry that they could see. The powerful birds began flying at the boy, flapping their large rings at him and grabbing at his hair, face, and shoulders with their claws. Snape, blinded by the birds, and desperate to get away, began stumbling around the room. To make sure that the boy went in the direction they wanted him to, James and Sirius set off more flash bangs on the opposite end of the room. It riled up the owls even more and drove them away from the doorway and towards the open window.

And, like a scene from a muggle movie, Snape toppled out of the window.

Quick as lightning, James and Sirius rushed toward the opening Snape had only moments before disappeared through. Madly happy smiles crossed their pairs' faces; their plan had gone exactly as planned. Fireworks and owls could be tremendously unpredictable and their success was never a guarantee. The fact that things had gone so perfectly made the two endlessly overjoyed.

Sirius and James got to the window and immediately looked down. Sitting, rather uncomfortably and in an absolute state of terror, on a broom only five or so feet beneath the window, was Snape. James had bewitched the broom to hover just under the window; the ultimate goal of their prank was to terrify and humiliate Snape, not murder him by sending out of a tall tower.

"Oh, Snivellus," Sirius called, his tone mocking, "you should see the look on your face. It's absolutely priceless!"

"Ge-ge-get me down!" Snape called, his voice wavering with fear. Sirius and James simply laughed at the boy. Sirius then pulled out his wand, waved it a little, and the broom beneath Snape began to move. The greasy haired boy screamed in terror as it flew further from the building. James and Sirius watched the broom sail through the air for a few more minutes before they turned and hurried out of the now empty owlry. There was still one more aspect of their prank. Humiliation didn't really occur until there was an audience to witness it and the Gryffindor boys had the perfect audience in mind.

As the boys began to descend the stairs, the broom Snape was on performed a quick barrel roll, causing Snivellus to let out a yelp. James and Sirius continued on down the stairs absolutely cackling with glee.

The boys showed up in the Great Hall only minutes later. As it was Saturday, breakfast was later than on a week day and most of the students were still milling about the area. Remus and Peter were sitting at the boys' normal spot, eating and amicably chatting. James and Sirius joined the other two, quickly and animatedly filling the others in on the events that had occurred up in the owlry.

Just as James was getting to the end, where the broom started performing tricks and acrobatics, Snape, shaking all over, flew into the Great Hall. The normally pale boy was as white as a sheet; his dark eyes were wide pools, fear clearly swimming within them. Snape's long fingers were curled tensely around the broom handle as if they'd been glued together.

Snape flew to the middle of the Great Hall and hovered there. All eyes were on the boy and whispered filled the room, trying to discern what was going on. After a beat or two, the final stage of James', Sirius', Remus', and Peter's plan unfolded.

"Dear Severus," a voice that most recognized as James' echoed throughout the hall. All heads swivelled to the young boy. As the voice continued, James' mouth did not move. The inhabitants of the Great Hall began wondering if the voice did belong to James. "I'm just writing to you to know that I fancy you! I hope you fancy me too!"

"Dear Admirer," this time Snape's voice boomed out. "I'm not sure who you are. If you could maybe tell me something about you…" As Snape 'spoke' a flutter of letters flew into the Hall. They all quickly rearranged their forms into mouths and began reading their contents aloud. Some spoke in what sounded like James' or Sirius' voice while someone who sounded like Snape read others.

"Your hair is absolutely flawless!"

"I've never been good at talking to girls. They make me nervous and I stumble over my words. With you, though, things just seem so easy."

"I wish I could come up to you and tell you these things in person, but I'm far too shy. Mable, one day, you can make me brave."

"I hope one day you can find the courage. I can't wait to meet you in person."

The letters, howlers, were the letters that Snape hade sent to his secret admirer and those James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter had sent as Snape's admirer. As the intimate words and confessions filled the Great Hall, the gathered students turned to Snape and burst out laughing.

'Sweet victory,' Sirius thought, even as Professor McGonagall stormed into the hall and right up to the quartet. Lily trailed behind her, obviously having fetched the head of Gryffindor to save her friends.

"After me please, boys," she said tersely before turning on her heel. The boys, floating as they followed her had never felt better.


	19. Chapter 19: That's a Wrap

_We're drinking my friend_

 _To the end of a brief episode_

 _Make it one for my baby_

 _And one more for the road_

 _~Johnny Mercer_

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen**

 **That's a Wrap**

* * *

Their little episode with Snape cost the four second-year boys a week's detention. They'd initially tried to come up with a way to let the student body know that they were responsible for the prank against Snape, but not get into trouble for it. However, they quickly discovered that it would be difficult as sometimes the staff of Hogwarts went solely on rumours when dolling out punishment. Also, coming out in the open and claiming the prank as their own would ensure that no one else, especially one of the Slytherins who so clearly hated Snape, would lay their own claim to it.

After they got out of detention, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were bogged down by schoolwork, both newly given and those assigned before their incarceration that they didn't get to in between attending classes and clearing the Great Hall, broom storage, and Slytherin common room without magic. Luckily, the four boys were still on a high from their exploits with Snape and they didn't feel compelled to pull another prank, even a smaller scale one. When random older students were coming up to congratulate and praise the quartet, they didn't want to do something that could take away from their current infamy.

"What do we have left? A month? June? DO you think the teachers will continue to burry us under work, or will they actually let us go out and enjoy this beautiful spring weather?" Sirius asked one spring morning, staring longingly out the Gryffindor common room window. The sun was shinning down on the green grass of the Hogwarts grounds, creating a desire-inducing tableau that pulled at the young boy's outdoorsy heartstrings.

"Well, looking at the syllabuses for each of our classes, I think we are pretty much done learning new things for the year. We've been taught all that we are supposed to in second year," Remus spoke. Sirius sat straight up, appearing quite similar to a dog being promised a treat. "Unfortunately," Remus continued, "Next week is when we should all start studying for finals if we want to achieve good marks on them."

Sirius slumped down in his chair and pouted like a scolded dog. His piles of work, which he had previously been working hard at, lay forgotten on the table. Remus sighed, sorry that he'd opened his mouth and led his friend into a non-working depression.

Moments later, James entered the Gryffindor common room and plodded towards his three friends seated at their normal table. He looked absolutely exhausted, large bags under his eyes and his whole frame dropping like an under-watered flower. His hair, normally only slightly ruffled, resembled that of a muggle scientist Remus had seen photos of his mother's books and magazines. James barely made it to the chair before collapsing down into it.

"Frank is trying to kill me. I don't know if I'll be able to fly in the game tomorrow. This cannot be what he actually wants out of the team. If we're all too tired, sore, and exhausted, there is no way we will beat Ravenclaw for the cup." James slumped towards Sirius, who looked like his twin in pain and anguish.

Remus sighed again. It was going to be a long month.

* * *

"Well ladies and gents, this is it. The final game of the year. The one for all the Gobstones. Winner takes all. It's now or never, do or die! Right. Sorry Professor. Moving on. Our last match of the year, as always, between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. This time though, by the luck of the rankings, the winner of this match will be the winner of the cup. So, without further ado, let's get on with the match!" the Quidditch announcer, Donald Karlson, exclaimed.

James and the other Quidditch team players stood on the field waiting on Broadmoor to begin the match. Slowly, he lumbered onto the field, the trunk of balls floating along behind him. When he got to the middle of the pitch, Broadmoor motioned for Frank and the captain of the Ravenclaw team to shake hands. After the quick ceremony, the players mounted their brooms and the balls were released.

"The game starts with Ravenclaw in possession. Fancourt with some fancy broom work is outpacing Longbottom. She sweeps right to avoid a well-aimed bludger from Hodgins. A nice effort from the red and gold, but not nice enough. Melanie Fancourt is one of the fastest fliers this school has seen in many a generation. And just like that, Fancourt scores! Ravenclaw is up 10 – 0!"

At the score, Ravenclaw, along with most of Slytherin and a smattering of Hufflepuff students cheered and screamed. James thought it was all a little much, but it focused him into the game even further. Broadmoor's commentating, and the roars and boos of the crowd, fell away. All that was in his mind was the quaffle and how many times he could get it through the goal posts.

As soon as the quaffle was brought back into play, James had it in his hands. He shot off like a red spark from a vermillious charm towards the goal posts, avoiding other players and bludgers, and sent the quaffle sailing through the ill-defended hoop. He, along with Frank and Vincent Price scored again and again. Before long the score was 100 – 70 for Gryffindor.

"It's a close game, folks. Ravenclaw may be down now, but only by 30 points. Gryffindor is playing a fierce game; their players want this win. You can really feel it. But Ravenclaw wants it just as bad. It's truly anyone's game at this point.

"Look to the Seekers now, ladies and gents. They haven't been super active yet, but just you wait. Any moment now those two could take off after the snitch. At this point, whichever team's Seeker grabs the snitch will win the game and win the cup for their house. No pressure though!" Karlson's voice temporarily broke through James' concentration. The last thing he needed was the pressure of knowing that he and his fellow Chasers weren't doing enough to truly ensure Gryffindor's victory.

Once again, he focused back in on the game, ensuring that he put the quaffle through the goal as many times as he possibly could. James quickly got the quaffle, intercepting a throw between Fancourt and Robinson and reversed his flight path. With skill honed though hours or practice, the messy haired boy dodged and weaved across the pitch. As he flew, he calculated the distance, ad when he felt he was within range, he threw the quaffle as hard and as straight as he possible could.

Second before his shot sailed through the goal post, a loud, excited, almost manic cheer went up from the Gryffindor section and other supporters of the team. James found is a little strange that they were so happy for what was basically just another goal, but he allowed their joy to fill him up. It wasn't until he turned back to the rest of the pitch that he realised the cheer was not, in fact, for him, but Gryffindor Seeker Karen Wilde. Moments after James released the quaffle, but before it went through the goal, she had closed her hand around the small golden snitch and secured victory ad the cup for Gryffindor house.

As this sunk in, James joined the cheering and screaming. All of the other Gryffindor team members were descending upon the fourth-year Seeker. James joined in, wanting to be a part of the celebrations and the rejoicing. His mind was barely processing what was going on aside from the celebrating, but that was really the only thing that mattered in that moment.

Gryffindor had won the Quidditch cup! James' first ever time on the team had lead to the ultimate success! And, James had played a fairly significant role in the victory. Along with the success of his, Sirius', Remus', and Peter's prank against Snape, James felt like he was floating a million miles above ground and he certainly wouldn't be coming down anytime soon. Life could not get any better! It had truly been the most joyous year yet and he couldn't wait what third year would bring for him and his three best friends.

'Adventure awaits!'

 **The End**


End file.
